Mesmerised By Mullet Murmuration

The natural history photographer has fi lmed all 53 UK freshwater fi sh species, and this week he looks at mullet and sea trout.

- Jack Perks

MENTION mullet and most of us think of sea-dwelling fish that hang around harbours for scraps of bread, but I’m sure a 1980’s hairstyle will also spring to mind.

We have three species of mullet present in the UK. The golden grey mullet is the scariest and smallest, rarely getting bigger than a couple of pounds; the thick-lipped is the largest and most commonly seen around our coastline; and the third is the thin-lipped, which is most often spotted in rivers.

I travelled to Lewes, in East Sussex, in the hope of filming a thin-lipped mullet. It seemed a nice enough day for late March, but I was horrified to see that the colour of the Sussex Ouse was browner than chocolate dipped in coffee. I was reliably told that it does clear, but this muddy, tidal stretch didn’t hold much hope.

I’d also miscalculated my timing, as I was about ten miles from the sea, waiting for a flooding tide to push the mullet upriver. I rigged up my pole camera, which looks like a cross between a metal decorator and hook-a-duck rod, because physically getting into the strong tide and deep mud wasn’t an option.