BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-09)

September 2020

FEARGALSHARKEYshottofameinthe1970s

and 80s as lead singer of The Undertones.

He is a keen angler and river conservationist.

Inourseriesaboutpeoplewithapassionforaspecies,formerpopsinger

FeargalSharkeytellsusabouthisloveofBritishriversandbrowntrout.

FEARGAL SHARKEY

Whyarewildbrowntrout

sohardtobeat?

They’rebeautifulfish!Allpopulations

lookunique.Gothreemilesupstream

andthetroutmighthavecompletely

differentmarkings.It’sthatclassic

Darwinianthing:theircamouf lageis

bestsuitedtotheirlocalenvironment.

Onlythefittestandmostcompetitive

shouldeverspawnandreproduce.

Browntroutareamongthegreat

survivorsofthemodernworld.

So,thesefishdon’ttravelfar?

Oh,theydo.I’vebeentalkingto

scientistsstudyingtheirgenomeall

overnorthernEurope,asfarawayas

IcelandandtheFaroes.Somebrown

trouthavea hiddengeneticswitch,

where,forsomestrangereason,they

suddenlystarttobehavelikesalmon.

Theywillswimdowna riverintothe

NorthAtlantic,feastonsandeelsand

anyamountofotherfoodthen,like

salmon,swimbacktotheriverwhere

theyhatchedtospawn.

Whendidyoustartfishing?

I’vealwayslovedf ly-fishing.Growing

upinDerry,andspendinga lot

oftimeinDonegal,thatwasnot

atallunusual.Troutandsalmon

fishingwerecommonworking-

classpursuits...soit’ssomethingI

developeda passionforquiteearlyon.

bestwaterfilterontheplanet.The

perfectlyclearwaterthatcomesout

ofthischalkaquifershould,in

theory,bea constant10°C,even

whenthere’s3mofsnow!Thechalk

streamshouldalso,intheory,be

unadulteratedbyheavyf loodsand

storms,witha constantrateoff low.

Thesethingscreateanincredibly

vibrant,healthyenvironment...

themostphenomenalfreshwater

ecosystemintheworld.If you’re an

invertebrate,it’sa five-starhotel with

a three-starMichelinrestaurant.

Whyaretheyindanger?

Watercompanieswantthispristine

water,whichis rightontheedge of

England’smajorpopulationcentre.

So,thewaterindustryis exploiting the

chalkaquiferasmuchasit can.But

it’sa nationalproblem.Asof2016,

just 14 percentofEnglishrivers had

goodecologicalstatus.In2018,

sewagewasdumpedintoriversin

Englandon146,930separate

occasions.TheseareEnvironment

Agencynumbers.Therealityis that

nearlyhalfofEngland’srivershave

notbeenmonitoredatall.

WILDLIFECHAMPION

VIEWPOINT

Even when on

tour, you’d still

find time to fish?

Yes! I’d be standing

in a boat or maybe

wading in a river

somewhere, with

3m of carbon fibre

around my head.

From pop star to river

conservationist... how

did that come about?

I’m a member of the Amwell Magna

Fishery, the oldest angling club in

the country. It’s based on the River

Lea in Hertfordshire, and there

was an issue with water levels, so I

began talking with the local water

company and Environment

Agency. One thing led to

another, and now I’m fighting

to save our chalk streams.

What makes chalk streams

so special?

Chalk streams exist because of

[events] about 100 million years

ago, which created a layer of

chalk through south and south-

east England. That chalk is the

The expert view

Brown trout are the world’s most

genetically diverse vertebrate. Fish

from the same brood can take

completely dierent paths. Some

stay in tiny Highland streams, reaching just

6cm or so, while others travel hundreds of

miles along the coast and reach weights of over

9kg. Trout are also an incredible indicator of a

healthy river system, because they need lots of

river flies to feast on and high oxygen levels.

Jack Perks is a photographer and fish expert.

Growingupin

Derry,troutand

salmonshing

werecommon

working-class

pursuits.

S

T

Feargal: Jim Dyson/Getty; trout: Alex Mustard/2020VISION/NPL

Interview by Ben Hoare