Early warning could have saved fish
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Author: |
Indeg Jones |
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Date published: |
6-May-2008 |
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Keywords: |
pollution, public |
Earlier contact from the public could have limited the number of fish killed in a pollution incident at a river in St David’s last week, as Environment Agency Wales launches a full investigation into the incident.
Officers received reports from the public of large numbers of dead fish in the River Alun, St David’s, on Friday morning of last week (18 April). They rushed to the river and found over 100 fish, mostly wild brown trout, dead at the scene.
As the officers investigated the fish kill, they were approached by a member of the public who commented that the river had been ‘green, black and frothy’ as early as the Wednesday (16 April).
Ged Davies, whose team is leading the investigation for Environment Agency Wales, said:
“As soon as we got the reports in on the Friday, we were there straight away. Unfortunately, we then discovered that the pollution had been going on since the Wednesday.
“If we had known about it then, we might have been able to take action and save some of the fish from being killed.
“The public are our eyes and ears when it comes to protecting the environment from incidents like these. As we have seen with this incident, an earlier warning could have made a difference to these trout.”
Officers found that almost 5km of the River Alun had been effected by the pollution. Teams from Environment Agency Wales are still on site today (Monday 21 April) to determine the extent of the damage.
Evidence is being gathered to decide on the next possible course of action.
“When we got to the river, we didn’t see much of the actual pollution itself, only the consequences”, continued Ged.
“We have taken some of the fish away for testing, but most will be left to degrade naturally. We urge anyone not to go near any dead fish that they see.
“We are very grateful to the person that contacted us on the Friday. But if anyone does see anything kind of pollution in their local river to call us as soon as possible on 0800 80 70 60.
“The sooner we know about an incident – the sooner we can take action and hopefully limit it’s effect on the environment and local wildlife.”
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Doc reference: |
TC059/08CJ |
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Contact: |
