Anger at Shakerley Mere's 'extreme' new fishing restrictions

Though owned by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC), the fishing rights at Shakerley Mere have been leased to Lymm Angling Club for more than 70 years.

Christian Dobbie, club member and volunteer bailiff at the Northwich Road lake, describes it as ‘symbolic of the club itself’.

Shakerley, a former sand quarry, is home to enormous carp of up to 30lbs in weight - a firm favourite with Lymm members - as well as large shoals of specimen bream and roach.

However, back in 2020, the mere began to experience ‘serious ecological problems’ according to CWAC ecologists, which began when firefighters and the RSPCA rescued geese suffering from the effects of toxic blue-green algae.

The following summer, in 2021, blue-green algae was confirmed again.

Then, yet more dead birds triggered a warning advising residents to avoid the water due to the potential presence of avian botulism, a deadly bacteria which thrives in the presence of decomposing blue-green algae.

The problem has been put down to excessive nutrients in the water, especially nitrogen and phosphorous, which nourish the algae.

These supercharged algal blooms reduce oxygen levels which can harm fish, give a boost to botulism bacteria, and cause water stagnation and an soupy appearance.

In 2023, CWAC commissioned a report on the mere from an environmental consultancy, APEM, which ran to 62 pages, including recommendations to reduce nutrient levels to boost water quality.

As of Wednesday, April 1, the council has adopted some of the recommendations, including banning fisherman from using ‘free food’ baits to attract fish to the area they are fishing, which add a large amount of nutrients.

The only bait allowed now is what is directly attached to the fishermen’s hooks.   

The council has also asked Lymm Angling Club to remove many of the fish, particularly carp and bream, as their presence in large numbers is known to have a negative impact on water quality.

This, according to Christian and almost 350 fishermen who signed a Change.org petition against the changes, makes Shakerley Mere 'now not worth fishing at all'.

The 25-year-old believes the activities of fisherman are an ‘easy target, which 'make it look as though the council is doing something'.

Other recommendations in the APEM report, such as a targeted cull of Canada geese whose faeces is another big source of unwanted nutrients, have not been adopted, according to Christian.

He added: “A lot of people are very angry about the changes. They are a step too far.

“I can get behind having no ground bait and putting a limit on how much bait should be going in, but to limit it to hook bait only is extreme.

“Last weekend, the pool was netted of all fish. It is going to be very, very tough fishing.

“I won’t be fishing there anymore. It feels like the fisherman are being kicked out in favour of dog walkers.

“The report recommends reducing the numbers of waterbirds there, but I don’t see any of that happening.  

“Stopping fisherman is just an easy target to make it look like they are doing something.

“Now there is no point in fishing it at all.”

Lymm Angling Club was approached about the new rules imposed on its members by the council, but did not respond.

CWAC has acknowledged the fishermen’s concerns but says it stands by the new restrictions.

Its spokesman said: “We appreciate some anglers are unhappy, however the recovery of Shakerley Mere is not focused solely on fishing.

“This is a holistic, whole lake restoration effort, addressing a complex environmental problem which has been building for years.

“The purpose of the fish management work is to rebalance fish stocks, reduce fish deaths during low oxygen events, and allow aquatic plants to re-establish.

“This in turn helps stabilise and improve water quality.

“A significant pressure on the mere identified in the ecological report is the level of angling bait entering the water.

“Products such as boilies, pellets and ground bait break down and release nutrients which fuel algal growth.

“The mere will take time to heal, but these actions are essential to restoring it as a healthier, more resilient environment for wildlife, anglers, and the wider community.”