Angling club's quick revival after fish virus

Fleetwood Reservoir, on Maritime Street, closed after KHV - koi herpesvirus disease, was confirmed on August 9.

The disease causes fish to develop necrotic skin patches and can proved fatal.

But now the facility, which is overseen by Fleetwood Reservoir Angling Club, is open to anglers again.

However, it is still subject to strict statutory controls to prevent or limit the spread of the disease.

Paul Potter, club treasurer and secretary, said: “The amazing things is that now the angling seems to be better than ever.

“People are catching more fish than they were before. We’re not quite sure why that is, it does seem to defy logic, because we have lost 48 fish - that’s about a quarter of the carp we had there.

“We were told it would take several months to get back to normal.

“We are lucky - this thing could easily have wiped out our entire fish stocks.”

Mr Potter said anglers were being urged to follow guideline recommended by the Environment Agency (EA).

The measures include demands that all nets/mats be dipped before and after fishing and that keepnets are forbidden except in matches.

The EA will now visit the water twice a year to provide follow on support and to ensure there are no further issues, although they believe this unlikely. Fleetwood Reservoir Angling Club has some 100 members at present. The four acre water, which is owned by Fleetwood-based David Halsall Toys (Europe) Ltd, has depths from six feet to 20 feet.