Action plan agreed for pollution-hit Wandle

Pike were among the thousands of fish and other animals killed when sewage polluted the River Wandle.

Now a meeting has agreed an ambitious plan to restock and revitalise the Thames tributary.

Thames Water admitted responsibility for the pollution, which happened on September 17. It apologised unreservedly to everyone concerned at the meeting, which was co-ordinated by the Anglers’ Conservation Association.

It was attended by the local angling clubs, the Wandle Trust, the Chief Executive of Thames Water, two of the company’s senior directors, fisheries staff from the Environment Agency and was hosted by the National Trust.

David Owens, Chief Executive of Thames Water, said: "We accept full responsibility for this incident and apologise to the many people who have been affected. We know that rehabilitation will be a long process, and that significant costs will be involved, but we want to get started as soon as possible.

"The first step is to commission an independent survey of the river to assess the damage and identify what work is required. We are committed to working openly and co-operatively with the Environment Agency, the ACA, angling clubs, the Wandle Trust and the local community on a plan that will not just restore the river but - in the longer term - improve it, for the benefit of people and wildlife."

Mark Lloyd, Executive Director of the Anglers’ Conservation Association said: “While everyone regrets that this incident ever happened, we are delighted that Thames Water has responded not only by accepting responsibility and promising to compensate those affected but they have also agreed to go the extra mile and commit to core funding the long term improvement of the river.

"This is a very welcome change from a company that the ACA has previously had to fight through the courts. We hope that this sets a precedent for any future pollution events not only by Thames Water, but by the rest of the water industry.”

Theo Pike, Trustee of the Wandle Trust and Senior Vice President of the Wandle Piscators said: ”we are delighted to have been assured of Thames Water’s commitment to working with the local community to mitigate the effects of this environmental disaster, and provide real partnership in restoring the Wandle to its rightful status as the best urban chalkstream in the world”.

Zoe Colbeck, Property Manager for the National Trust’s Morden Hall Park, said: “The River Wandle is an incredibly import resource for the local community and for wildlife. Over a number of years we have been working with the Environment Agency and other partners to improve the water quality and associated habitat. We are delighted that Thames Water have decided to contribute to this process and we are looking forward to working in partnership with them over the coming years. We hope this experience will also help us work more closely with Thames Water across the whole of the SE region.”

Charles Rangeley-Wilson, presenter of the BBC’s Accidental Angler series, said: “Catching and releasing a two and a half pound trout from the River Wandle this August was probably the most significant moment in my fishing career.

"I'd dreamt about doing this for a decade. It meant a lot to me that this urban river was recovering from centuries of pollution. That trout was an old warhorse of a fish and to think that it had endured for so long only to die in this recent, disastrous pollution was very depressing.

"Despite my despair at that news I'm now really delighted to see that the ACA has worked so quickly with Thames Water and the local community to develop an ambitious plan to get the river back on its upward curve of recovery as soon as possible.”

Farm run-off blamed for carp deaths

Nitrates caused by farm run-off is being blamed for an increase in carp deaths at fisheries up and down the country, the SAA revealed today. Anglers are being asked to report any problems they have encountered.

More here.

Massive fish kill hits Dorset Stour

More than 15,000 coarse fish including pike have died in a pollution incident on the Dorset Stour.

The Environment Agency launched an investigation after dead and dying fish were reported at Sturminster Mill, upsteam of Hinton St Mary, on Wednesday.

Tonight the agency said it believed farm run-off was the cause of the outbreak. The pollution is believed to have entered the main river via the Caundell Brook and River Lydden.

Officers are trying to trace the source of the spill and have visited several farms on the two tributaries.

Work is under way to recover and dispose of fish which have perished in the outbreak, which include roach, chub, perch and pike.

EA spokesman Andy Martin said: "We are currently focussing on identifying the sources of the pollution and a number of agricultural farms and industrial units are under close inspection.

"Clearly this incident will be of great concern to the angling community as a significant number of fish have died. Over the coming weeks we will be assessing the full impact on the ecology of the river and considering options to enable the river to recover as soon as possible."

Wall of foam causes fish kill on Thames

A wall of what is believed to be firefighting foam has been carried down the River Thames today, killing hundreds of fish in the upper reaches of the river.

The Environment Agency says it entered the river via a brook at Fairford, from which it was carried into the Colne and then the Thames upstream of Lechlade, Glos.

Dead fish have been reported in Lechlade Wierpool - the highest on the river - and downstream at Buscot and Radcot.

Pictures show the foam several feet high outside the Trout Inn, at Lechlade.

While the EA has declined to reveal the source of the foam, it is believed to have come from the USAF base at Fairford, where flying tankers and other American military aircraft are based.

Click here for BBC report.

We can work together, say FOE

Pike anglers and environmental campaigners can work together to combat pollution and threats to our fisheries.

That was the message from Friends of the Earth campaigner Niall Bakewell, when he addressed a meeting of the PAC's Northern Ireland Region.

Regional Organiser Gordon Nesbitt said: "He gave an interesting talk on the common goals that the PAC and Friends of the Earth can hope to achieve when working together."

FOE has already woked in partnership with Antrim Angling Club to deliver a damning dossier on polluters. Click here.

PAC members are compiling similar evidence concerning incidents on Lough Beg, in Co Londonderry. The evidence will be passed the relevant authorities. Click here.

Gordon told the meeting, at Portadown Town Hall, that it was vital for pike anglers to remain vigilant.

He said incidents should be passed to the EHS/DOE Pollution Hotline 0800 807060, and the following details noted down for future record:

1. Where, when, what, whom.
2. Record suspected cause, if a polluter, try to record or retain evidence eg photos, film, registration numbers/ descriptions, log of activities noted.
3. Record time, date and to whom took your call from the pollution hotline.
4. Record when where, whom you were referred to in the EHS/DOE.
5. Record any follow-up contact, results of investigations, repeat incidents (in the same fashion), or record if initial report has NOT been followed up.

For more information see the RA43 Blog.

Broads should recover from salt tides - EA

Norfolk's pike fishing mecca does not appear to have been harmed by last winter's storm surges, the Environment Agency said today.

Anglers feared the worst as gales lashed the East Coast last November, driving salt tides higher than normal up the rivers Yare and Thurne.

But a report in Angle - the EA's magazine for anglers in East Anglia - says: "The tidal flooding of the Broads last November should have little effect on fish stocks, and anglers can look forward to a good season's sport."

The EA adds the storm surge, on November 1, was the highest since the 1953 floods, which killed more than 40 people as the sea broke through defences.

"It was one of the worst incidents of fish deaths from natural causes in the Norfolk Broads in the last 15 years. Thousands of fish died."

But hundreds of thousands more were saved by flood barriers at Potter Heigham boatyards, which were packed with juvenile silver fish.

Mortality was worst on the Yare, where dead fish were seen upstream of Brundall. While it is difficult to assess how badly pike were affected, few were seen amid the large numbers of silver fish.

The EA's Graham Gamble said: "It was mainly the young fish which were lost and the numbers will be replenished naturally. I don't think anyone will notice any big difference this coming year."

But while a once in 50 year storm tide is not the end of fishing, such tides are predicted to become more common as sea levels rise and our climate changes.

There is already controversy over the way Broadland rivers are managed to contain water, rather than allow it to flood onto marshland as it has for centuries.

Pikers fear the worst for pollution-hit Beg

Pike anglers in Northern Ireland are fearing the worst tonight as the scale of a major oil spill on a prime fishery became clear.

More than 8,000 gallons of red diesel haves formed a massive slick on Lough Beg, in Co Londonderry.

Pike Anglers Club members in the area say it comes just weeks after fish have spawned in the shallow lake on the Lower Bann system.

Specialist cleaners were still trying to contain what local media were calling an environmental disaster as darkness fell.

The alarm was raised by the crew of a police helicopter who spotted the oil spill close to Bellaghy, on Tuesday morning.

The disaster is the latest in a series of pollution problems to hit Lough Beg - an SSSI which was previously acknowleged as one of the finest pike fisheries in the Lower Bann system.

Gordon Nesbitt, the PAC's organiser for Northern Ireland, said the spill came after receding levels had killed pike spawn in recent seasons, and the lake had suffered further unexplained kills of adult coarse fish of all species.

The PAC is calling for answers over this - not least why the impact of such pollution outbreaks on the pike and pike fishing never seem to be considered by the powers that be.

Late tonight one TV station called the oil spill "an environmental diaster" - click here.

Lough Neagh suffers massive fish kill

One of Northern Ireland's premiser coarse fisheries has suffered a catastrophic fish kill.

"The shores of Lough Neagh were awash with the bodies of millions of small roach and bream after the chemical spillage which happened during the early hours of Friday, January 12," reports local paper the Lurgan Mail.

One witness said: "There have been millions of fish killed and that's no exaggeration."

Iron sulphate stored at a sewage works close to the lough is believed to have leaked into the lough.

For more click here.