Fish are victims of the big freeze

AN angling expert is urging clubs to be more vigilant in caring for fish during the next big freeze.

Chronicle columnist Jan Verbruggen visited Sammy’s Basin — a disused canal basin in Daisy Nook Country Park, where he witnessed dead fish including roach and carp, beneath more than eight inches of ice.

Jan, a member of Chadderton Mill AC, praised his club for its quick-thinking during the bad weather.

He said: “Straight away they used a saw to cut holes all along the ice so that fish can get some oxygen.

“There were loads of dead fish in Sammy’s Basin — basically the ice was so thick that they suffocated.

It’s not just there, it’s happening all over the North-West.

“No one is saying stand on the ice, obviously health and safety is paramount but more clubs need to look after their waters.

Lee Humphreys, a senior committee members at Chadderton Mill AC, said in 35 years of fishing he had never seen ice so thick, describing it as “horrendous”.

He said: “We spent a lot of money on petrol saws so we could cut around 30 holes.

“We spend thousands of pounds on our club water — if we didn’t we would have suffered severe losses. We had lads going up there on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day to make sure it was OK.

“The problem is if fish are dying it is kept very quiet as anglers get put off going to the venues.”

Diggle Angling Club said it had too been breaking holes in the ice.

Derek Parkin, secretary of Limehurst Anglers Club, which looks after Sammy’s Basin said “We can’t advise people going on to the ice to break holes — that can cause stress to the fish and the council has told us not to do that.

“In the summer we have aerators as there is a lack of oxygen but when the water has iced over there’s nothing we can do.”