In last week’s Angling Times, there was an article headlined ‘Relief Channel Fears’, following news that the Environment Agency have produced a consultation document over proposed plans to protect more than 5,000 properties around Oxford from flooding.

The proposal has worried specimen anglers who are concerned how a proposed relief channel would affect fish, in particular barbel, who use some of the Thames tributaries for spawning.

The article says: “Concerns are being raised about the impact it would have on the recruitment of Thames barbel in particular, with both the Osney and Seacourt Streams being recognised by fishery experts as ‘essential’ spawning sites for the species.”

That is interesting, because as someone who has lived in the area for the past 30 years, I have never seen barbel in Osney Stream.

And in the last Environment Agency fishery survey, the only Thames tributary around here which held barbel was the upper reaches of the Seacourt Stream.

There were no barbel found in Castle Mill, Potts, or the Seacourt below Wytham or any of the other small streams and ditches surveyed.

Thames specimen angler Andy Nellist said: “The consultation document is so lacking in detail that it’s almost impossible to see exactly what will happen.”

Maybe before we all start shouting, we should wait and see exactly what the EA are proposing, and how they will protect vulnerable wildlife.

There’s no doubt something needs to be done to reduce flood risk and the EA have already spent £2m on what they call ‘short term measures’, but a relief channel seems a very long way off at present, especially in the current enconomic climate.