Grayling released onto the Sherborne Brook

As many of you know, the Sherbrooke Brook Support Group are members of the Windrush Catchment Partnership, and indeed I am a member of the steering committee for the partnership. I was passed this excellent news from the Partnership. Well done to all, especially the Cotswold Fly Fishers, the Cotswold Rivers Trust, the NT and the EA.

For the second consecutive year, 1,600 young grayling have been released into the Sherborne Brook as part of a collaborative initiative to restore and strengthen this native species, known as the 'lady of the stream'. This partnership project brings together the Cotswolds Rivers Trust, Cotswold Flyfishers, the Environment Agency, and the National Trust, combining conservation expertise and local knowledge to establish a stronghold in the Brook.

The long-term goal of the project is to establish a self-sustaining grayling population in the Brook and to create the conditions necessary for the species to naturally recolonise other parts of the Windrush catchment, where numbers have declined significantly over recent decades due to habitat degradation, pollution, and climate pressures.

This work builds on a foundation of habitat restoration efforts led by the Cotswold Flyfishers over several years. Focused especially on the lower reaches of the Brook, these improvements have enhanced water quality and spawning conditions, making the habitat far more suitable for grayling to thrive.

This effort leverages the relative high water quality of the water in the Sherborne brook, very much an exemplar in the catchment, and it’s a great positive story for the brook. The grayling were released on the lower part of the Brook, below Wadlands Stone bridge. The hope is that they will colonise the Brook, and from there spread into the Windrush. These are beautiful fish which we should treasure, even if we can’t catch them!

Here’s some pics: