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NORFOLK BRANCH OF THE SALMON AND TROUT ASSOCIATION FUNDS RESEARCH INTO DEVELOPMENT OF LEADING NORFOLK TROUT FISHERY

The Norfolk Branch of the Salmon & Trout Association has funded a major survey and report on the restoration and development of one of Norfolk's premier trout fisheries. The survey of the river Wensum between Bintry Mill and County School was carried out by Dr Nick Giles on behalf of the Bintry Mill Trout Fishery.

Over the last few seasons the numbers of wild brown trout in this stretch of the Wensum have been increasing and it is hoped that Dr Giles' recommendations will increase the amount of habitat suitable for mature wild trout to spawn as well as providing further stretches of nursery waters for the juvenile fish.

Richard Gibbs, chairman of the Bintry Mill Trout Fishery, said: As a Fishery we are all very grateful to the Norfolk Branch for agreeing to fund Dr Giles' survey and report. It will serve as an excellent example of the valuable work that the association carries out - too often unpublicised - helping conservation of wild trout stocks and the development of rivers as fisheries.

We will be presenting Nick Giles' report to the Environment Agency and agreeing a course of action so that his recommendations can be implemented. Some of his recommendations, such as increasing the length of shallow, gravel riffles, will extend upstream work that has been carried out by the Agency on stretches of the river further downstream. We hope that a local gravel company may want to get involved as it will be a good opportunity for a quarry to show that not all gravel extraction is harming the environment.

Over the years, much of the river has been damaged by deep dredging and is now too wide for summer flows. This is allowing the river to silt up, a process by which it is trying to regain its natural shape and dimensions. The river still has a good mixed invertebrate community including shrimps, which are an indicator of good water quality, Mayflies, ramshorn snails, various caddis and Olives.

Dr Giles is a leading freshwater fisheries consultant who has been involved in a number of major river and wild trout habitat restoration projects including the river Piddle in Dorset and the river Wylye in Wiltshire. He is a member of the Government's Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review Group and is also providing consultancy to a fishery on the river Nar at Castle Acre.

The Bintry Mill Trout Fishery is one of four fisheries in Norfolk set-up by the Salmon & Trout Association to provide quality river and stillwater trout fishing for members of the Association.