so its a misconception otters kill carp...anything that kills carp will be my enemy..whether human or animal..wink and will suffer the concequences..hunting and fishing..tis all but the same..except only the carp get to live..wink!!!

Timber

foxes are classed as Pests, whilst Otters are protected, big difference.

there certainly is a big difference tony..foxes dont eat carp

They do taste OK with a bit of parsley sause, large white flakes etc,, but I still prefer most sea fish species. Sadly Otters can only catch what is available to them in their environment.

That’s the nuts and bolts of the problem. We are talking Cheshire here! There is an abundance of prey that will support lots of Otters. Sadly very little of it lives in the Otters natural environment.

The major rivers and their tributaries were open sewers within my memory. I remember the Tame, a tributary of the Mersey, running all colours of the rainbow and quite often being so full of detergent that each weir looked like a giant bubble bath.

Yes things have improved beyond recognition but the recovery process has only just begun. We can not pretend that all is well, just because we have cleaned up the rivers enough to support a few coarse fish. What is being proposed here, is introducing a top predator into an environment which does not have the food chain in place to support it.

Even if there was the food chain in place, there is valid argument against their re-introduction because the environment has changed so much. What is that line in Jurassic park? Words to the effect “they were so busy working out if they could, that they never stopped to think if they should?”

Cheshire is not an isolated location, where the Otters will stay in situ at the release site because it’s Hobson’s choice. Quite the opposite Cheshire’s rivers could prove to be the ideal highway to easy pickings. Why would Otters try to eek out an existence in an environment virtually devoid of its natural choice of food, when they are in spitting distance of a captive audience of big fat fish that have no real natural predators or the resultant survival instincts? In fact even if the food chain was in place are they going to waste energy hunting Eels all day long to survive, or just plop into a lake and grab a big fat fish?

I don’t know if Otter problems are the result of introductions or natural colonisation? What we do know is that they are a problem. At the very least there is enough evidence of problems to justify a ban on further introductions, perhaps even a case for control in certain circumstances? Imagine the outrage if they were eating cats?

otters in cheshire... would be equivalant to keeping a girraffe locked up at anfield..its pure cruelty!...unless.. it was blindfolded whilst the games are being played

Natural colonisation Andy. Very few otters have been released in the whole country and were released in localised areas, hence a few waters having problems...too many released in one area (which was shunned by those who work in the field, and no more releases are being undertaken).

last post ever on the subject

These / Those anglers who don't understand the environment...and I am writing about basic educated common sense I feel from my point of view...

Otters will not affect your catch rate and to a far more drastic possibility will not ever make carp vulnerable or even EXTINCT!! so chill and worry about where you are chucking your line not t'otters!

bigger longer rats with bigger teeth..thats all they are!!!

i heard about this otter park back in january in carpworld i think it was. i was shocked alittle as it had only just been highlighted the month before about the damage otters can do to fisheries.
i've already sent a letter complaining about the fact of the otter park. and that otters should be able to recononise naturally without humans giving them a helping hand. i have seen 2 otters on the weaver and acouple on the severn. they are obviously already there in the quiet areas. we don't need to help them anymore.

HUMANS CAN NOT PLAY GOD!