The prospect of salmon being bred in an indoor 'farm' in Cleethorpes made headlines last year. But what happened to the trout introduced 75 years ago to Chapman's pond a few hundred metres away? The Grimsby News investigates.
It was back in May, 1949, that 200 brown trout were first lowered into Chapman's pond in Cleethorpes. thanks to an initiative by Jack Manders, secretary of the Grimsby and District Amalgamated Society of Anglers.
Says a report of the time: "This was a delicate removal job indeed but Jack had no need to worry.
"Under the watchful eye and expert guidance of Mr J Hale of the Louth-based firm, Trout Ltd, the 200 two-years-old fish slithered jumped and in most cases made a bee-line for the food which they hoped the deep waters offered."
The fish had started their life in spawning ponds, then been reared pending orders from customers.
Next they were transferred to 'starving' tanks where food was withheld to allow the creatures to rid themselves of waste matter.
"They are then ready for the road," explained Mr Hale. "We pop them into an oxygenated tank which is just an ordinary tank of water fed with oxygen from a cylinder.
"The ratio is one pound weight of fish to one gallon of water with oxygen.
"At the new pond, we test the temperature of the water in the pond and try to equalise it with that in the tank, then take the fish from the tank and put them into a bath of equalised water take them pond’s edge and then into the water."
Visualising many happy fishing excursions after autumn, when the trout were expected to breed, Mr Manders said that the idea of putting trout into the pond was purely experimental
He said: "We paid £20 for this lot.
"If the experiment proves successful, we will get some more - I think the fish will do all right in Chapman’s Pond as it is spring-fed."
Trout were still in the pond in 1961 because a report in that year states: "Grimsby and District Amalgamated Society of Anglers are closing Chapman’s pond at Cleethorpes during the freshwater fishing close season from March 15 to June 15.
"Trout anglers, however, may continue to use the pond during this period, but only on condition that they were in possession a trout licence with no keepnets were allowed
"The new by-law means that trout anglers will no longer allowed to use maggots worms as bait while fishing for trout.
"A notice prohibiting angling in Chapman’s pond during the close season will be exhibited on the notice board at the pond and the bailiff has instructions not to allow any angling there during this period."
By October, 1967, things had gone wrong.
A report states: "Members of the North East Lincolnshire Water Board have agreed refund the current year’s rent of £25 for Chapman’s pond to the Grimsby and District Amalgamated Society Anglers as no fishing has been possible because of the pollution at the pond
"In his monthly report, the board’s engineer and manager, Mr Cyril Cooper, explained that an outbreak of prymnesium (a toxic algal bloom) early the previous year had left the pond devoid of fish."
In April the following year, restocking of the pond Cleethorpes by the Lincolnshire River Authority began.
Several hundred bream, weighing between from one pound and more than three pounds, were introduced.
But there was no word, then, nor has there been any since of replenishment with trout.
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