ATTACK OF THE OTTERS

The Otter was re- introduced into Great Britain in the 1970's and ever since they have made a massive impact on our fisheries, destroying a large number of not only our fish species but also lots of our other land going creatures to.
  Although they may appear to be nothing more than cute fury creatures they are actually a devastating predator which prey on many small animal species such as land nesting birds, our indigenous snake species and many fish species.
  I first came across this problem holiday on the river Bure in the Norfolk broads, although I had heard about the damage caused by the Otters in the Norfolk area it was usually on the upper reaches of rivers which were out of the way of more populated areas.
 On this trip we set out pike fishing as usual but after 2-3 days we was still without a single run. I had spoken to the local workmen in the area and they explained that in the past year or so the otters had moved further down stream and had caused a huge amount of damage to there fish stocks including the big Pike which the river is famous for, this was hard to take in as exactly 12 months earlier we had enjoyed an incredible weeks fishing catching 3-4 Pike per day and had caught them to over 24 lb.
  I went for a short walk with my granddad and came across five large pike up to about the 15 lb mark laying on the bank with huge great holes in them we the Otters had killed them and dragged them onto the bank and simply left them there.
  The Otter population has now started to spread and has continued to decimate carp fisheries and rivers allover the country causing fishery owners thousands of pounds worth of damage.
  If anything i do believe that the Environment Agency should take control of the situation and try to put a stop to this shocking situation, giving fishery owners the permission they need to control the species, It was the Environment Agency that helped re- introduce the species in the first place and its now time they take responsibility for there actions.