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March
2008
Chips4Fish,
found itself on the cold, windswept banks of the
Bristol Channel
just a day
after the recent, March, storms, at Peterstone Coarse Fishery near
Newport
in
South Wales
.
I
was
there at the invitation of the Environment Agency Wales
Environmental Crime Officer Ian Wilson, to talk to the regional
media and demonstrate fish identification tagging by microchip.
Peterstone
Lakes
bought in a
number of beautiful common and linear carp for the event as part
of their re-stocking programme. These fish were microchipped in
front of the television and regional press and the unique identity
numbers that the microchip carries has since been entered on a
national database which ties the fish, indisputably, to
Peterstone
Lakes
.
If any of them should be stolen and discovered elsewhere
the microchip number will help bring the thief and perhaps the
owner of the lake in which they’re found, to justice!
The
Fishery Manager, Martin Cronin and a bailiff were both trained in
microchipping techniques during the day and they will now take on
the task of microchipping the rest of the fish in the lakes as
they get caught.
Having
the fish ‘chipped’ will not only increase the security of the
lakes but will give the management a tool that will help monitor
the fish stock growth rate, a useful indicator of the health of
the lake itself!
Also
attending the event was the Police Crime Prevention Officer from
Barry, PC Richard Collins and representatives of some other
South Wales
angling organisations. |
Before and after the fish
is chipped it
is checked with a scanner to ensure:
pre-implant scan - that
the fish has
not already been chipped.
post-implant
scan - to ensure the
chip is
in the fish and is working.
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