On 8 Jul 2009 at 9:41pm an OAPS wrote:
A local angler caught a catfish from the Ouse at Hamsey this afternoon (08 July) 
. Details at www.ouseaps.co.uk
It looks like last year's reports of one from Lewes were probably true.
On 8 Jul 2009 at 10:39pm Swampy. wrote:
Sorry all.I feel killing fish is /are wrong.
On 8 Jul 2009 at 11:00pm an OAPS wrote:
No need to apologise, most anglers would agree with you.
On 8 Jul 2009 at 11:01pm an OAPS wrote:
And this fish WAS returned (not thrown back) to the river.
On 8 Jul 2009 at 11:59pm harold wrote:
I believe that fish should, by law, have been killed as it is not a natural fish in the ouse, by allowing it to return alive it has put all the other species at danger 
On 9 Jul 2009 at 9:28am MC wrote:
Yes, I do not think it should have been returned either. It should not have been in the Ouse in the first place. I'm guessing it was put in there by some uneducated aquarium owner who got tired of it. A catfish can eat an awful lot of fish. I'd prefer it if the natural Ouse fish were not threatened by an inroduced species that can grow to the size of a monster.
On 9 Jul 2009 at 9:42am Pete wrote:
Since I knew nothing about catfish or why this was unusual, I searched and found this
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1458683.stm
On 9 Jul 2009 at 10:52am Dogfish wrote:
Oh dear. That article seems to indicate that it is illegal to throw a catfish back into a UK river once it has been caught. I hope it is incorrect or the Ouse Angling Preservation Society could be in for a bit of trouble. The catfish was caught (and returned) by its treasurer. :-(
On 9 Jul 2009 at 12:41pm TDA wrote:
Lol
On 9 Jul 2009 at 1:31pm MC wrote:
The OAPS person says it was "returned". Maybe it was sent back to Germany (or wherever they come from).
On 9 Jul 2009 at 1:48pm Wilhelm wrote:
I'm very interested in your catfish and find the BBCarticle very encouraging. I happily unite it with other catfish in my Bavarian lake. But only under one condition: It must eat DFM's (Down From Munich) and teach the local catfish.
On 9 Jul 2009 at 2:20pm FA wrote:
They're indiginous to North America. I once caught an albino wells cat in a lake in East Sussex. We were night fishing and we'd all had a skinful. It took a few minutes to realise what it was. Apparently there's only about half a dozen in the country !!!
My pal "Kendo caster" will vouch for it....he caught sod all as usual !!!
On 9 Jul 2009 at 2:43pm Wilhelm wrote:
Albino fish? Did it have red eyes?
On 9 Jul 2009 at 3:36pm FA wrote:
Yes, albino animals usually do !!!! 
On 9 Jul 2009 at 8:46pm KENDO CASTER wrote:
And i still hold the TROPHY
On 10 Jul 2009 at 3:35am Catkiller wrote:
These weren't put in the river by an aquarium owner, they were put there by an unthinking moron who fishes for cats in one of the local commercial fisheries that have been given permission to stock this alien species. They have been stolen from that pond and illegally stocked in the river. whoever's putting these fish in the river is a complete idiot. they are hugely destructive and voracious predators with a particular appetite for eels and water fowl. Eels are under too much pressure as it is without this alien species on it's case. (it's a european wels not an american catfish) they have no place in our eco system and I will be targetting them and will kill any I catch. Also illegally introduced are grass carp and pumpkinseed. species lost from our river are burbot, shad, ruffe, loaches, bullheads. And dace, roach and chub are under threat. this is very bad and I will be lobbying EA to trap and remove this threat. I really hope the person who did this gets prosecuted, Also will be writing to EA requesting that permits to stock these fish in ponds be stopped. Anyone who knows who put these fish in the river please inform Environment Agency so they can prosecute.
On 10 Jul 2009 at 2:45pm MC wrote:
Crikey, that's some accusation. Do you *definitely* know that there is a single individual stealing the catfish and putting them (or it, hopefully) in the Ouse? Which pond near the Ouse has been stocked with catfish? I do hope it's not within the Ouse flood plain or in a few years time they'll be as prevalent as the carp are now, and there'll be few native fish left.
BTW, the EA know about the catfish. Last time this catfish issue came up I talked to them and they expressed an interest in netting the river and catching it.... but then there was no proof there actually was one in the river. Now there is. The Environment Agency have been alerted to this thread and I imagine they will be contacting the Ouse Angling Prservation Society soon.
The poor old Ouse is under enough pressure from poor quality water and denuded environment (not to mention minks and cormorants) without this added threat to the eco balance.
Perhaps we ought to have an Ouse fish-in, try to catch these things and take them out? I'm not into dead-baiting but am willing to have a go. I've not fished Hamsey or the wild stretch for some time (I generally lure fish around the Anchor area) and it'd be nice to go back there.
On 10 Jul 2009 at 6:57pm Catfood forthought wrote:
There are several muddy puddles stocking these fish for 'anglers' to catch, wylands is close by and mushroom farm is another. If these fish arrived in the river 'by accident' from a privately stocked pond being washed out, then logically there would be some goldfish/Koi in the river too, and they would be showing upstream of barcombe. you fish by the anchor, seen any koi or reorts of cats around there?
OAPS have ammended their webpage, it is now not stated that the John Goodrick returned a non-native species, only that he caught it (John Goodrick caught a catfish this afternoon (08 July 2009) at Hamsey,) and OAPS are in contact with EA
- The Society has been in contact with the Environment Agency (EA) concerning the legal position of returning catfish to the river following capture. Although the capture of catfish is not yet covered by the EAs national fishery byelaws it is likely to be included in 2010 following consultation being undertaken at the moment.
It is, however, illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to return a catfish to a river. Anglers are required to either kill any catfish they catch or, preferably, contact the EA who will collect and remove them for relocation'.
Telephone numbers for the EA are either 0800 80 70 60 (Energency Hotline) or 01903 703886 (during office hours only for the local EA Fisheries, Recreation and Biodiversity Team).
I spoke to the EA today and they're aware and are thinking about having a meeting to plan a discussion on policy formulation with a view to setting up a task force who's job it will be to report back to the policy formulation co-ordinator who will then brief the graphic design department, who will produce a lovely leaflet explaining what they spend our money on.
On 10 Jul 2009 at 7:06pm FA wrote:
Wylands is in Catsfield. That would have to be a flood of "Noah's preportions" for them to get into the Ouse.
By the way, i wasn't aware of Wylands stocking Cats, although that was the fishery i caught my albino one from (some 10 years ago now). Do you mean Winton in Burgess Hill ?
On 10 Jul 2009 at 7:32pm SHS wrote:
All this makes a pleasant change from talk of parking, Bill's, planning and DFLs! I've not been fishing since I was 16 but it seems a great way to escape the boring and unnecessary pressures of the rat race and appreciate the natural world on our doorstep.
On 10 Jul 2009 at 7:35pm FA wrote:
As the saying goes SHS....."a bad days fishing is far better than a good days working"
On 10 Jul 2009 at 9:57pm MC wrote:
Coincidentally enough I did see some goldfish in the Ouse at the Mills a week or two ago. 5 inches long, about 4 of them. I assumed someone had tipped their bowl into the river when they got fed up of the fish.
Good to see OAPS catching up with the modern world and adjusting their rules.
On 11 Jul 2009 at 1:16am NDA wrote:
SHS said "seems a great way to escape the boring and unnecessary pressures of the rat race and appreciate the natural world on our doorstep."
Best to experience the natural world before your ever-expanding doorstep crushes it for ever.
On 11 Jul 2009 at 1:19am Long Distance Whelker wrote:
I'm planning to catch a fish that has come down from London - an elusive fellow called Bill!!!
On 14 Jul 2009 at 6:18pm seafisher wrote:
Catfish are nasty but it does depend on which type..if its a wells then it will eat wildfowl..Many U.S. species are smaller though..not good
next worry will be the Crayfish..big shame
On 14 Jul 2009 at 6:27pm seafisher wrote:
also want to add that they can get across wet meadows by themselves (like eels) I believe... so if the lake is very near.....
On 14 Jul 2009 at 7:12pm Tank wrote:
I thought for a minute that you were having a pop at Bill from'Bills' LDW, then realised that was unlikely as he's lived here all of his life. So which Bill were you talking about then?
On 14 Jul 2009 at 11:00pm MC wrote:
It seems that there are already signal crayfish in the Sussex Ouse, and have been since 1992: www.ouseaps.co.uk/
On 15 Jul 2009 at 1:10am catkiller wrote:
hello seafisher
Wels catfishes favourite food is carp, never heard of them doing the eely thing. As regards the U.S. Catfish, equally as damaging, look at france, billions of small brown variety that deny indigenous species food, habitat, etc. Signal crayfish carry a virus that has all but wiped out the domestic version.
All non indigenous species, unless contained, have a detrimental impact on the environment, whether it's grey squirrels, mink, Zander, Rainbow Trout, Mitten Crabs, Zebra Mussels, Himalayan Balsam, Carp or Pussycats. But some can and should be stopped before it gets totally out of hand.
On 15 Jul 2009 at 11:00am MC wrote:
It's strange that signal crayfish, if they really have been in the Ouse since 1992, have not migrated throughout the river. Maybe that is one advantage to the number of non-passable weirs littering the waterway.
I din't realise that the Wels catfish likes to eat carp. They'll be very happy in the Ouse then. It's interesting to note that it was caught very near to (if not at) an area that holds some of the largest carp in the Sussex Ouse.
On 15 Jul 2009 at 7:16pm catkiller wrote:
big carp all through the ouse.
Yep Catfish eat carp, that's why the ebro has got so many cats now, Catfish introduced by the gerries don't you know? in the mid 70's I'm told, went carp-scoffing mad. quickly produced millions of junior versions, nice and warm plenty of scoff. Still the spanish couldn't give a xxxx for anybodys ecosystem not even their own. Now they just look at the amount of german and english spending their euros and sod the river.
PS they won't be happy in the ouse for long.
On 15 Jul 2009 at 11:03pm MC wrote:
For the record I read the OAPS web site incorrectly. Signal crayfish are known in a tributary of the Uck, but that is all and they were recorded much later than 1992.
Why won't catfish be happy in the Ouse for long? There is loads of carp spawn in my stretch.
On 15 Jul 2009 at 11:56pm Catkiller wrote:
Because they won't be in there for much longer
On 17 Jul 2009 at 9:23am MC wrote:
Ha ha ha! You must have a very big net?
On 21 Jul 2009 at 4:16pm chris wrote:
Anyone know how big it was? OAPS doesn't have a report that I could find, just the EA style warning!
On 22 Jul 2009 at 10:37pm catlover wrote:
I fish loads of waters with Cats and they all have plenty of baitfish! The cats do a good job eating dead and injured fish and they are the only UK species that will keep down signal crayfish. Good examples of local lakes that have loads of Cats but also lots of other bait fish are Framfield and Mushroom Farm. I caught a signal cray in the Ouse about half a mile above tesco's about 5 years ago while Pike fishing. The main reason they have not spread throughout the ouse is probably the Cats keeping them in check!
On 18 Sep 2009 at 4:44pm specicarphunter wrote:
hey cat killer wat is wrong with your head,pleas get your mind right fool,grass carp are no threat...cats yea but grass carp lmfao @ you,why would you whant to put a stop to wels cats being put in commercial fisheries i dont no,seems to me your a very sad man who thinks other pepoles opinioans matter,
On 18 Sep 2009 at 4:48pm specicarphunter wrote:
Also illegally introduced are grass carp.... in refrance to cat killer, are you a littel simpel in the head what harm do grass carp do? may i say you then say the following And dace, roach and chub are under threat. mate a grass carp is like a bigger version of a chub, and live happily togther in many lakes,ponds ect ect seems to me your commenting on things you no nowt about.