A PROJECT to enhance the habitat along the River Great Ouse has been launched at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve. The Great Ouse Vision is a long-term Environment Agency strategy looking at 40 sites along the River Great Ouse and how the area can be improved f

A PROJECT to enhance the habitat along the River Great Ouse has been launched at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve.

The Great Ouse Vision is a long-term Environment Agency strategy looking at 40 sites along the River Great Ouse and how the area can be improved for small fish.

To mark the launch of the scheme, a fisheries survey was carried out in November at Paxton Pits and a total of eight different species were found, including gudgeon and minnows and the more rarer American crayfish and zanders.

Ian Hirst, Environment Agency technical specialist, said: "This project is one of many sites identified in the Great Ouse valley as part of our Great Ouse Vision, a vision to restore and enhance river and floodplain habitat to benefit fish and biodiversity."

The reach of the River Great Ouse, which passes alongside the Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, is said to rich in wildlife and fish. However, a lot of fish-holding habitat has been lost historically to enable land drainage, navigation and to prevent flooding. To make up for this loss the Environment Agency has been improving backwaters and secondary channels which provide shelter for fish out of the main flow of the river as part of their Great Ouse Vision.