We asked Martin 'Donny' Donovan, a lifelong river keeper on the hallowed Rivers Test and Itchen, for a snapshot of his life in these beautiful places. Donny offers us not only the reality of the work that he does, but through his near weekly video clips on social media, addresses concerns that drive to the very core of these precious places. He addresses the threats, the stupidity of people's actions and the effects that he sees on the river.
The thing about Donny is that he tells it as it is, not a saccharin version of how we imagine things to be. We need more Donny Donovans.
A question often asked of me, especially at the beginning of October, just after I wish another of my fisher’s to have: “a good winter and a happy Christmas” - and I’m always guilty, as are most river keepers - of holding out my hand just a little bit longer to encourage, who knows? A sizeable seasonal gratuity, perhaps?
Nope; invariably just the usual fiver. Hey ho, no matter, we bid farewell cordially, the parting response … “See you next May, Donny, I guess you'll be off to the Seychelles for a few months?”
The fisherman laughs, I smile, hide the grimace, and thank him for the fiver, laughing: “that it might not help much regarding a winter getaway to warmer climes”.
“Well Donny, put your feet up and take it easy, been a busy year for you, mate You deserve a rest.”
About this time, again through gritted teeth, I have to remind myself that I’m a river keeper: not a fisherman keeper, and their absence over the winter months, excepting a few grayling fishers, makes very little difference to my usual workload; and of course, winter is when most of the bigger jobs get done, although so does constant and usual day-to-day maintenance.
A river never stops, and the chalk streams are phenomenal, non-stop growing machines -twelve months a year.
I’ve been a river keeper on the Test and Itchen for most of my life, and I’m always surprised when people ask what actually does a river keeper do; especially over the close season? My reply, without a hint of sarcasm is, the clues in the name, I keep the river, twelve months a year. Day in day out.
However, how would I really describe my job to a layman?
Well….
I cut the river weed, always with a scythe. There tends to be three major cuts each season, June, July and August: and then a pre spawning cut in November and a bit in April. Because of where I am at the very top of the Test, the water is invariably crystal clear, and the weed never stops growing. It’s estimated that twelve tons of cut weed comes off my beat every season. Times that by forty years on the river, nearly five hundred ton of weed – that’s why I’ve got big arms! I may not have amassed much talent in my lifetime (not true at all! Ed.) but my goodness, I’m good with a scythe.
I cut the grass, all day Thursday forty-nine weeks a year. My very clever phone tells me I do twenty-eight thousand steps (even my wife is impressed… nearly), times forty-nine makes 1,372,000 steps a season cutting grass: and just like the river weed, cutting serves only to make the bloomin’ stuff to grow back again!
I do all the tree work and have used a chainsaw for most of my life, however my health and safety standards aren’t particularly great and risk assessment procedure somewhat lacking. But I get it done – always safely.
I continually argue with the Environment Agency, Natural England; I’m wary of Wildlife Trusts, River Trusts and positively hate any company with the word Water in it, particularly Southern and occasionally Thames.
I chase poachers: although fair to say nowadays not with as much haste and certainly as much enthusiasm, as I used to. But be warned, chase them I do (Don’t fool with Donny…Ed)
I control predators. Mink is currently bad on our stretches, but so are cormorants and out of control dogs…. closely followed by their owners. The worst predators are undoubtedly human ones, particularly when I worked at the bottom of the river closer to Southampton and whilst it’s currently a touchy subject because they’re not from these parts, I cleverly learnt how to say “pi£$* off” in five different languages.
Obviously, I look after the welfare of the fish, giving good cover with weed and trees, good spawning gravel and make sure they’re in fine health.
*It is worth noting that Donny and other keepers on the upper Test have almost single handedly reversed the fortunes of wild trout by creating a sympathetic environment for them the prosper. Ed.
Last, but certainly not least, I look after the paying fishermen. Sometimes I guide them, teach them to cast, make them tea and coffee on request, light their barbeque, tell them how brilliant they are, hear of their marriage woes, generally act as an agony aunt, sympathise with their health problems and remember to exaggerate the size and number of every fish that quite often, I catch for them. But without them….
It's tough being a river keeper, twelve months a year, come rain or shine and no, I’ve never been to the Seychelles.
Be May soon, enough.