What fish are there in the river thames

All of these species, along with Dace, are dominant in the Upper Thames from the source to Eynsham. Dace are one of the most elegant of British coarse fish. They are very lively and dart around together. Barbel, a bottom dwelling fish, is one of the rarest native fish and can also be found in the faster flowing stretches of this part of the River. They frequent weir pools and are often seen where the current runs along the riverbank.

Above Lechlade, Brown Trout are abundant where the River is narrower and faster flowing. They also favour the limestone and chalk tributaries of the river and the weir pools.

Carp and Barbel are also found but only sporadically. Carp is a large, long lived powerful fish. It is essentially a bottom feeder but can often be seen basking on the surface in the summer months. Gudgeon, a small bottom living fish, and Dace can also be found but Dace is on the decline.

In a few places along the River, Tench, which is also a bottom dweller which can live in mud at the bottom of dried-up channels, may also be found. In the upper reaches of the tidal Thames, between Teddington and Battersea where it is still freshwater despite the River being tidal up as far as Teddington , there are some 20 species of freshwater fish, including those found on the non-tidal River, but Roach and Dace are dominant.

In addition, 14 species of euryhaline fish fish that can tolerate both salt and fresh water including Smelt, Bass, Flounder, Trout, Twaite Shad and Allis Shad, and 86 species of marine fish have been recorded in the tidal Thames. The Thames Estuary is an important nursery ground for a wide range of species including Flounder, Plaice and Dab. It is also the largest spawning ground for Sole in England and Wales.

After 2 or 3 years, having reached a length of about 25cm, the Sole migrate out of the Estuary into the commercial fishing grounds of the southern North Sea. The Estuary has also become a major nursery for Bass, with large numbers of fry moving into the Estuary in the summer months. There is also a considerable seasonal migration of fish and their fry in the Tidal Thames. In March, Dace the commonest freshwater fish in the Tidal Thames and Smelt a cousin of the Salmon spawn around Wandsworth and their fry then migrate up the River to Teddington.

In April and May, young eels Elvers ascend the River while in May and June it is young Flounders, about the size of a 5p piece, that are on the move. At about the age of three, the adult Flounders return to the sea to spawn. Nearly all of these migrating species move in dense shoals right up as far as Teddington and, apart from Dace, they all move down to the Estuary again during the winter months.

Small fry, even as small as 8mm long, are capable of moving up the estuary in a matter of days although they are unable to swim against the stronger currents.

They enlist the help of the tide: they float up on the Incoming flood tide and then seek shelter in the margins of the channel during the outgoing ebb tide. In salmon returned to the Thames - the first for years! Salmon spawn in the upper freshwater tributaries producing young salmon, first called alevins and then parr. After 2 years they become silvery smolt which then migrate to the feeding grounds at sea. On reaching the sea, the Salmon grow rapidly and after one to three years they make their return journey to their home river as grilse to spawn and continue the cycle.

In the Thames Salmon Re-habilitation Scheme was launched in conjunction with the Thames Salmon Trust with the long term aim of restoring a self sustaining Salmon population in the River Thames. The Scheme involves fish rearing and stocking, the construction of Salmon ladders in the weirs upstream in the non-tidal Thames and a programme of evaluation.

This completed the current programme and all the weirs from Teddington to Mapledurham now have ladders installed. Problems remain, however. In wet weather the sewers can overflow, discharging raw sewage into the estuary. This can happen 50—60 times a year, leaving sewage waste on the foreshore, killing fish, and harming wildlife.

We are working with the Government, Ofwat, Thames Water, businesses, local people and the Thames Estuary Partnership to tackle these problems. The fish species found to date are listed below. The majority of these fish were found during routine surveys by the Environment Agency and its predecessors.

The Environment Agency has a statutory duty to maintain, improve and develop freshwater fisheries. Ed Randall of the Thames Angler's Conservancy names bream, perch, pike, roach, rudd, dace, ruffe, barbel, native and non-native carp, chub and gudgeon among them.

Other information about record-breaking or rare fish in the Thames is hard to come by. Anglers are notoriously secretive about specimen catches, as publicity may attract too many others and spoil the fishing in a favourite spot. If we've got you hooked, it's worth knowing that there are quite a few Environment Agency national and regional byelaws PDF to abide by. Fishing is not permitted at all during the closed season, which runs 15 March June inclusive ,and all fishing in England and Wales requires an Environment Agency rod licence.

Legally, you can take some of the fish that you catch, but British anglers generally catch and release. Randall says, "There's a real cultural thing that you just don't do it.

You've had your sport stalking the fish and it deserves to be treated with respect and put back in the river quickly and unharmed". Plus, fishing is not sustainable: there are simply not enough fish in our rivers to support widespread removal.