On Friday 16th February, 2018, 1st and 2nd year Countryside Management students from Moreton Morrell College came to Abbey Fields to remove some of the fish from Abbey Lake under the direction of Fisheries Manager John Wall, and supervised by Heather Hopkinson (Lecturer in Environmental Biology) and Anthony Simmons (Leamington Angling Association).
The fish were carefully removed by Seine netting, and transported to John Wall Fisheries, Melton Mowbray, in 1 m3 tanks. Once there, the fish are to be sorted, health-checked, fed and prepared for distribution to restock ponds, lakes and pools in the area.
This year, surface ice was problematic for the first two casts, and required removal by hand before the fish could be transferred from the net to the transportation tubs.
Submerged wooden features and bank vegetation stubble caused some issues with safe footing and net retrieval.
A surprising number of visitors took interest in proceedings and we fielded questions whenever possible, in order to let everyone know what was going on.
Photos by Adam Beresford-Browne