Tipping the Balance – biomanipulation at Ranworth and Barton Broads

NWT, in partnership with the Broads Authority, proposes to create clear water conditions and associated aquatic plant growth in significant areas of Barton and Ranworth Broads, Norfolk Broads to restore two priority habitat freshwater lakes.
This will be achieved by:-
• Installing fish barriers up to a total of c.1,790m to form 6 biomanipulation exclosures in the two Broads. At Barton, this will involve the reinstating 3 of the original trial zones.
• Manipulating the fish populations in the exclusion zones and translocating the extracted fish into the open areas of the respective broads
• Improving up to 800m of broad edge habitat (reed, sedge and marginal plants) at Ranworth Broad
Through these measures NWT will facilitate the creation of clear water and the stable establishment of aquatic plant beds and provide a source of plant seed and propagules to enable growth to spread into other suitable areas within two Broads and, importantly, across the whole of Broadland.