Nearly 7,000 coarse fish have been released into West Country rivers, lakes and ponds as the Environment Agency wraps up its December 2025–January 2026 restocking across Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. Reared at the Agency’s Calverton Fish Farm near Nottingham, the fish were funded entirely by anglers’ rod licences.

The timing is deliberate. The Environment Agency says December and January are the safest months to introduce fish thanks to cooler water temperatures and lower stress, and the releases give stocks a head start before spring spawning.

Jim Flory of the Environment Agency thanked the angling community, noting that licence income makes this work possible and that putting fish back into places where numbers have dipped benefits the wider environment and the people who depend on it.

Agency figures for this round show 6,950 fish distributed across 11 waters. The Bristol Avon received 1,000 young barbel, while Edmondsham Lakes in Dorset took 1,750 fish including roach, rudd and tench. Lysander Lake near Dorchester received 1,250 mixed fish, Crookwood Lake at Devizes 900, and Gall Pond at Tortworth 400 bream.

Smaller allocations round out the programme: the River Tone gained 200 roach and 200 dace; Burbrook Lake at Melksham 500 fish; Century Ponds in Keynsham 200; Players Golf Club at Chipping Sodbury 300; Mappowder in Dorset 150; and Pythouse Lakes in Wiltshire 100 crucians.

The species mix-barbel, dace, rudd, roach, bream, tench and crucians-aims to rebuild balanced communities. Across the programme that equates to 1,000 barbel, 200 dace, 850 rudd, 2,000 roach, 1,350 bream, 825 tench and 725 crucians.

The need is clear. Many waters experienced a difficult summer in 2025, with high temperatures, low flows, disease and pollution incidents eroding resilience. Restocking offers a short-term lift, but long-term recovery depends on habitat restoration and cleaner water.

That means more shade from riverside trees, healthier gravels for spawning, better fish passage at weirs and culverts, and reducing pollution at source. Angling clubs across the South West are already partnering with the Environment Agency on such projects, funded in part by the same rod licences that paid for these fish.

For anglers, this is licence money at work. Buy or renew a rod licence before you fish, join local habitat days with your club, and report any suspected pollution to the Environment Agency. The restocking will be monitored through spring to track survival and spawning success.