Freshwater predatory cod species to make comeback after 50-year absence
Fri 6 Mar 2020 12.46 GMTLast modified on Fri 6 Mar 2020 18.25 GMT
Forget dreams of wolves, bears or lynx – the next animal to be restored to the British countryside could be a river bottom-dwelling fish that resembles a giant tadpole.
The burbot, much-maligned for its unprepossessing appearance with a fleshy appendage dangling from its chin, was last sighted in British rivers in 1969.
A reward for spotting it remains unclaimed and now a costed reintroduction plan is being drawn up for Natural England, the government’s conservation watchdog.
“The chance to bring back burbot to our rivers is hugely exciting,” said Jonah Tosney, operations director of the Norfolk Rivers Trust, which is masterminding the reintroduction plan. “Unlike beavers, lynx and sea eagles, they haven’t been gone for long; only about 50 years. Anglers still remember catching them. We’re hopeful that recent work to improve water quality and to restore habitat has brought our rivers back to a good enough state to support England’s great lost fish.”
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