Reintroducing Britains Lost Fish: The Burbot #105
Episode description
Burbot were once so common in British rivers they were used as pig feed and an important cog in the larger wheel of a rivers lowland ecosystem. Fast forward to the early 21st century and they are extinct from our waterways. Why did they die out? Why bother to bring them back? Who is working to bring them back? Are rivers healthy enough for them and will they cause issues with fish currently in rivers all these questions answered and much more as we wade through all the misinformation that is the burbot.
I speak to not one but four guests today all experts in Burbot including
Johan Auwerx - Institute of Nature & Forest Conservation, Belgium (Currently breeding and reintroducing burbot to Belgium)
Ian Wellby - Fishery Health Scientist & Worked on a feasibility study to reintroduce burbot in 2005
Mark Everard - Angler and Fish Scientist he literally wrote the book on burbot (see here!)
Jonah Toney - River Ecologist and Technical Director of Norfolk Rivers Trust (Currently working on bringing the burbot back to Norfolk)