Giant carp in Northampton lake electrocuted...for their own safety!
Giant carp weighing up to 40lb in a Billing Aquadrome lake were electrically stunned in order to easily move them to another lake.
The 240-acre holiday park in Crow Lane, Great Billing, is hoping to launch angling holidays and will be catching carp in one of its lakes to move them to the more prominent Willow Lake, where there are fewer weeds and it is easier to fish.
Today and yesterday, a team has been going out on to the water with electric rods to stun any nearby fish and catch them, as part of an assessment on how big a job it will be to move all the fish over. Water management and maintenance expert, Mark Harrison, who was hired by Billing Aquadrome to help with the project, said: "It stuns them for about 30 seconds; it doesn't harm the fish whatsoever."
He said the fish weighing in at less than 30lb were nicknamed "pups" by anglers because they are so much smaller than the fully-grown carp.
Carp angler Paul Hanger, also known as "carpman", is helping with the project, and added: "There is a lot of carp in here. The biggest I have caught here is 42.6lb."
Karen Joseph, spokesman for Billing Aquadrome, said: "This time it's a case of seeing what's in there. To stock up a lake can cost up to 1,000, so to make that investment you need to see what you have got to begin with.
"This lake is difficult to fish because it's covered in lilies, so we want to take the big specimens out of it and make the Willow Lake the main fishing lake.
"Anglers can then fish without worrying about lilies and things."
The resort has a strict policy that anglers must throw fish straight back into the lake when they catch them.
Karen said the resort was planning to attract anglers with well-stocked lakes and accommodation at the water's edge. She added that an increasing number of people were looking for original holidays in Britain to save money during the recession.
Pure Leisure Group, which took over the resort two years ago, is also hoping to start the first phase of its 9.5m makeover – a leisure centre including an indoor pool, gym and sauna – in June.
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Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
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