Concerns raised over declining fish numbers

An angler has raised concerns around Alderney's declining fish population, following the island's 38th annual fishing festival.

More than 70 anglers from across the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the UK competed in the Alderney Fishing Festival last week.

But David Nash, a local fisherman and former journalist, said conger, bass, mackerel, pollock, and garfish were "very, very few" in number compared with previous years.

The festival's committee said whilst fishing "was certainly tougher than usual", there were still some good fish caught and populations and species "seem to fluctuate from year to year".

According to Nash, the people who got involved fished with "great intensity" for the whole week.

He said: "It was great, but there were certain species that over the last two or three years have been on the decline, like conger and bass, which were very, very few."

Nash said: "We only had two decent bass weighed this year, two big congers, and very few mackerel this year."

The temperature of the water and there being more seals made a difference, he said.

"What most of the anglers were talking about was that the water is very, very warm at the moment - it's climate change.

"There's also been a growth in the seal population here on Burhou Island, which keeps chasing the fish out into deeper, colder water."

Despite this, Nash was positive about the future of the festival, with eight junior anglers taking part.

"We've had a fantastically successful competition this year," he said.

In a statement, James Clark, the president of the Alderney Fishing Festival committee said: "Whilst fishing was certainly tougher than usual during the festival, there were still some good fish caught and the qualifying board ended up around 75% full.

"Fish populations and species seem to fluctuate from year to year, with some species being more abundant in certain years and less abundant in others.

"We're very pleased with the support from our anglers and appreciate how many people entered the festival."

In previous years, the States of Guernsey released data indicating fish populations were in decline.

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