Look out for the latest ‘Invader’

Free Virtual Forum

In a bid to highlight the potential problems which could be caused by the appearance in English freshwaters of the non-native Prussian Carp (carassius gibelio), the Trust is holding a Virtual Fisheries Forum at 7.00pm on Tuesday, June 27 when experts from the Environment Agency’s Fisheries Laboratory will discuss the latest invader.

Prussian Carp are a non-native cyprinid fish also referred to as carassio, gibel carp or silver crucian. With looks similar to a small common carp, brown goldfish or F1s, Prussian carp are already widespread across Europe and Asia and populations have now been found to be present in the UK.

Prussian Carp can rapidly colonise waters

How to identify the Prussian Carp – a new invasive species

Thanks to their hardy nature and omnivorous habits, Prussian Carp can rapidly colonise waters, making them highly invasive outside of their natural range. In addition to the threat from their ability to outcompete other fish, Prussian Carp are also of particular concern to English Crucians – with which they can easily hybridise.

This Virtual Forum will cover the biological background of Prussian carp; why the species is of particular concern; and the steps that anglers and fishery managers can take to help tackle the invasion

You don’t need Zoom to take part

The session is free to attend and open to any anglers, club officials or fishery managers interested in learning more about Prussian carp.

Following feedback from previous events, the Angling Trust’s Virtual Fisheries Forums will now be broadcast via Zoom. Once anglers have registered they will be sent a link for joining. Those wishing to take attend the meeting do not need an account with Zoom in order to take part.

Virtual Fisheries Forums follow a simple format, with talks from guest speakers before an open Question and Answer session. Using the Q&A function on Zoom, anglers will be able to raise questions at any time.

For further details or to submit a question in advance, anglers are asked to contact Sam on 07415 384554 or via sam.hubbard@anglingtrust.net

If you would like to know more about the Prussian Carp, take a look at the Environment Agency’s fact sheet Prussian_Ginbuna_Nigrobuna_Hightlight_Final_March_23.

Written by Peter Cliff
With career in Public Relations and journalism, Peter worked for local, regional and national newspapers before moving into Public Relations. A regular contributor to several major angling publications over the years, he launched Fisheries.co.uk in 1999.