Table Of ContentBURBOT
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BURBOT
Conserving the Enigmatic
Freshwater Codfish
Dr Mark Everard
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First published 2021
Copyright © Mark Everard 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Published by
5M Books Ltd,
Lings, Great Easton,
Essex CM6 2HH, UK,
Tel: +44 (0) 330 1333 580
www.5mbooks.com
A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781789181456
eISBN 9781789181616
DOI 10.52517.9781789181616
Book layout by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
Printed by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow
Front cover: Batbold Tsedensodnoml Johan Auwerx
Back cover: Joachim Claeyé; Hendrik Wocher; Ian Wellby
Photos and illustrations by the author unless otherwise indicated. Every effort has been
made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the
Publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.
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Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Introduction: The curious case of the burbot 1
Chapter 1: Natural history of the burbot 4
The lineage of the burbot 4
Physical characteristics of the burbot 5
Burbot habitats and habits 7
The burbot diet 12
Reproduction and growth 13
Predators of burbot 23
Burbot genetics 24
Chapter 2: Burbot distribution 27
Threats and trends across their natural range 27
Burbot distribution in North America 30
Burbot distribution in Eurasia 30
Burbot distribution in Britain 32
The former distribution of burbot in eastern England 37
Lingering claims about burbot in Britain 41
Chapter 3: Angling for burbot 43
Ice fishing for burbot 43
Burbot baits 45
Ice fishing tackle 46
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vi ♦ Contents
Competitive ice fish 49
Set line fishing for burbot 50
Summer fishing for burbot 51
The (non-)fighting burbot 51
Specimen burbot angling 52
Burbot as bait 52
Pursuing English burbot 53
World record rod-caught burbot 55
British record rod-caught burbot 56
A final cautionary note to the burbot angler 57
Chapter 4: Cultural connections with burbot 59
What’s in a name? 59
Burbot gastronomy 63
Religion and the burbot 66
The medicinal burbot 67
Commercial burbot fisheries 68
Burbot farming 69
Burbot harvesting and use 71
Burbot as an inspiration of great art 75
Burbot and political history 82
Burbot and human health 85
Burbot and local culture 86
Trends in burbot populations 86
The disappearing British burbot 87
Burbot as a perceived conservation problem 90
A concluding thought 91
Chapter 5: Burbot conservation 93
A canary in the coalmine 93
Burbot conservation 95
River rehabilitation for burbot recovery in Germany 98
Burbot restocking in Germany 100
Recovery of burbot populations in the United States 101
Burbot reintroduction 103
Successful reintroduction of burbot to Belgium 104
Further genetic considerations 111
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Contents ♦ vii
Burbot as a tool for biomanipulation 112
Conservation co-beneficiaries 114
Chapter 6: Reintroduction of burbot to Britain 116
W here could burbot be reintroduced in Britain? 117
U nderstanding factors behind the decline of British
burbot 117
Why reintroduce the burbot to Britain? 121
Averting harm in the reintroduction site 123
Averting harm in the donor site 125
Testing the feasibility of reintroduction 125
Growing momentum for the reintroduction of burbot to
Britain 127
The Norfolk Rivers Trust reintroduction strategy 127
It’s about a lot more than burbot! 131
Chapter 7: Epilogue 133
Bibliography 136
Index 143
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Acknowledgements
The drafting of this book has benefitted from the input of many
colleagues and experts and the encouragement of friends for
what is, by any standards, a bit of a mad venture!
In particular, I would like to thank Jonah Tosney (Norfolk
Rivers Trust), Ian Wellby (Blueroof Ltd) and Tom Worthington
(Cambridge University) for their much-valued inputs and support.
An ‘absent friend’ in this regard is the late Keith Easton, former
Fisheries Scientist with the Environment Agency, who had been a
lifelong cheerleader for the burbot. Keith was an instigator of Tom
Worthington’s PhD on potential burbot reintroduction and of Ian
Wellby’s involvement too. In Ian’s view, we would not be where we
are today with burbot reintroduction into the UK without Keith,
his early work and his encouragement of others.
My thanks also go to Johan Auwerx of INBO (Instituut voor
Natuur-en Bosonderzoek: the Research Institute for Nature and
Forest) in Belgium, who has shared with me his deep experience
of the burbot in Belgium and offered new insights on burbot ecol
ogy including innovation of captive breeding and the effective
reintroduction programme in Flanders.
Thanks as well to both Hendrik Wocher at the LOTAqua hatch
ery in Germany, and Joachim Claeyé of the AquaLota hatchery in
Zele in Belgium, for sharing their knowledge and experience with
me.
A number of additional people from around the northern
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Acknowledgements ♦ ix
hemisphere, credited throughout the book, have been kind enough
to give me permission to use their photographs of burbot, as
well as the types of fishing equipment deployed to catch these
fish.
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