There are some days when the weather conditions are
absolutely critical to one’s enjoyment of the day, and today was one of them,
for it was the day for the 47th Thames Fishery Research Experiment
at Gravesend .
Judy and I took the train from St Pancras International to
Gravesend, and then a short taxi ride later saw us arriving at what remains of
the Gravesend Isolation Hospital at Denton which is now the offices of The Port
Health River Division Office. It was from this Hospital that in the 18th
and 19th centuries , the doctors who were working for the Port
Health Authority would travel out to arriving vessels and check on the health
of the sailors – if necessary putting them into quarantine in the Hospital at
which we had just arrived.
After a restorative cup of coffee we set out along the bank
of the Thames to see how the angling teams were getting on. There were eight
teams, including two from schools – namely City of London Girls School and
Gravesend Grammar School. The eight anglers in each team were spread out over a
good mile and a half of river bank and fished for four hours from 9.00am till
1.00pm when a whistle was blown and the competition ended.
The overall objective of the Experiment is to establish the
environmental condition of the Thames through determining the number and size
of fish species returning to the River. Judging is based on the greatest
variety and number of fish caught and uses a scoring system which rates fish
according to scarcity and significance in the context of a cleaner river. The
results provide valuable information to organisations such as The Environment Agency,
the Thames Angling Preservation Society and the Institute of Fisheries
Management.
Judy and I thoroughly enjoyed our walk along the bank of the
estuary, chatting to the various anglers and seeing what they had caught. All
the while the rain clouds banked up and threatened their worst, but it did not
rain - at least not until we were safely ensconced in the lunch marquee for the
post competition lunch and prize giving!
The Total Catch for the morning was amazing in its size and
diversity. The Total Catch was 375 fish comprising 7 species. The break down
was 187 Whiting; 128 Pouting; 35 Flounder; 8 Eel ; 6 Bass ; 6 Sole ; and 5 Crab.
I presented The
Biodiversity Award. This is an award given by The Water Conservators for the
catch which most demonstrates the continuing healthiness and improvement of the
River Thames. This year’s winning catch ( 3 Flounder, 3 Pouting, 2 Whiting ; 1
Bass, I sole , and 1 Eel ) came from a member of the PLA Angling Team.
After an excellent lunch in a marquee especially erected in
the Car Park of the Port River Health Division Office, Judy and I hitched a
lift back to the Guildhall on a Corporation minibus with members of the
Corporation.
It was a fascinating and thoroughly worthwhile day!
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