The Thames catch of the day

An Environment Agency team were casting a seine net at Strand-on-the-Green yesterday as part of London Rivers Week. They make these surveys of the river’s inhabitants twice a year, this time of year looking for the newly spawned. The seine netting was followed by a trawl net in the middle of the river. The biggest catch was a 58cm bream, but for the most part there was just small fry, up to about 40mm long, especially perch and roach, plus a few flounders and tiny shrimp. A single small eel turned up, 

Before we arrived a seal had been seen heading upriver. Not an uncommon occurrence they said. Nothing can be extrapolated from these counts, which can vary enormously, and were certainly different from the ones ZSL caught here last year. The agency just likes to know what is in the river. The landing stage opposite has a monitor that keeps regular track of the health of the water -- its oxyygen, PH and ammonia levels, plus turbidity and temperature. 

Around this time last year, the smelt team from the Zoological Society of London was casting its net. See the earlier blog