Southampton's Millers Pond restocked with 1,000 fish

Several bucketfuls of crucian carp, rudd, and tench were emptied into Millers Pond in Sholing on Tuesday to improve the habitat of the site.

The addition of the three fish species has been hailed a 'fantastic' move by those living in the area.

It comes after the Environment Agency eradicated topmouth gudgeon – a non-native species that seriously affected the pond’s ecosystems.

Colin Oliphant, chairman of The Sholing Valleys Study Centre, has been involved with the preservation of the site since the late 1970s.

He said: “There all these fish going in, fish that we haven't had before.

“We're really delighted and the people of Sholing are delighted, including the fishermen who come here.

“The pond became so infested with topmouth gudgeon that the Environment Agency were called in and they had no choice but to kill all the fish off last year.

“The pond is coming back to its full potential now.”

The topmouth gudgeon may be a small, innocuous-looking fish but it can cause substantial problems.

Described as the ‘perfect invader’, these fish can survive temperatures from near freezing to those more than 25C.

But after a successful eradication, Millers Pond was cleared for new fish to arrive.

The restocking of fish at Millers Pond in Southampton on Tuesday (Image: Newsquest)

It was an early start for the Calverton Fish Farm team, who bred the fish at their site in Nottingham.

James Rabjohns, from the farm, said: “The fish were loaded up at 5.30am and I set off at 6.15am.

“The fish are probably about 20 months old, and they were reared on the farm from an egg to what you see today.

“This type of delivery is right up our street - it's a community pond.”

The fisheries, biodiversity, and geomorphology team from the Environment Agency released the fish into the pond.

By doing so, a ‘sustainable fishery’ is created and will offer somewhere for people in Southampton to go fishing, providing they have a rod licence.

Amir Fogel from the Environment Agency is pleased with the outcome of the work. 

The Solent Fisheries, biodiversity and geomorphology team leader, said: “This is the culmination of a multi-year project that aimed to improve both the habitat and angling experience at the site.

“The focus of this work came first through the eradication of the ecologically-destructive invasive non-native species, top mouth gudgeon, and followed by restoration work including silt removal, aquatic vegetation management and the building of fishing platforms.

“Our dedicated fisheries officers and project partners have worked incredibly hard to deliver this work and the final results look to be a fantastic win for both the community and the environment.”