sussex sea trout

Mass trespass to save the ‘Sussex Tiger’ sea trout

Local ‘Right to Roam’ movement, Landscapes of Freedom, led a mass trespass at the North End Stream, north of Lewes, at the end of August to raise awareness of the plight of the ‘Sussex Tiger’, a rare sea trout unique to the Sussex area, as Dave Bangs, local naturalist and author explains.

The ‘Sussex Tiger’ sea trout is the largest sea trout in England and Wales. For decades, its falling numbers have been cloaked in secrecy and silence for fear that publicity would exacerbate its decline, and because its streams and rivers are hidden from the public by lack of access rights.

While excitement rises about beaver, pine marten and stork re-introduction, the fate of the Sussex sea trout has often been marginalised. Now, a wave of major housing developments threatens the Sussex Tiger further still, with two developments proposed on the remaining safe havens for the fish: the North End Stream and the Bevern Stream, north of Lewes.

National intervention is the only way to halt the extinction of the largest sea trout in England and Wales. If this mega-beast of the streams disappears, it will be the first extinction of a major genetically distinct lifeform that I know of in our Wealden Vale in our time. 

Lewes District Council recently championed the Rights of the River Charter to protect the legal rights of the River Ouse. Co-developed by local groups including Love Our Ouse, the Declaration on the Rights of the River Ouse includes a recognition that it has the right to be free from pollution, is essential for ensuring life – including human life – and has a right to native biodiversity.

These rights, and the concerned citizens who have come together to restore the River Ouse, are being tested by an onslaught of the broken water system, climate change, housing developers, and the political drive for unequal rural development at the expense of nature.

f you are  interested in the fight to save the Sussex Tiger seatrout, contact .

 

Groups supporting our river

Additional groups not involved in this event but with local expertise in fish and river preservation:

  • The Ouse Angling Preservation Society, founded in 1875, has been working for the Sussex Sea Trout throughout its history https://www.ouseaps.co.uk
  • The Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust (OART) works with landowners and managers on behalf of the Sussex Sea Trout. https://www.ouseaps.co.uk
  • The Bevern, North End and Ouse Conservation Society (BNOCS) do much work to defend the Sussex Sea Trout and include many local experts.
  • Love Our Ouse (LOO) campaign for the implementation of their charter of rights for the River Ouse. https://loveourouse.org