Sunday 2 August 2020

River pretty steady now in most areas.  Odd shower here and there but nothing substantial and current conditions likely to remain.

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WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN.  SOUNDS FAMILIAR SOMEHOW DON'T YOU THINK.
NOT LONG SINCE THE LAST POLLUTION.  WILL NRW NEVER GET A GRIP ON THESE POLLUTING FARMERS.

Wonder if the culprit will be found and if so will there be a penalty involved I wonder.  Wait and see I suppose.
Hundreds of fish killed in Afon Llynfi pollution spill


Dead fish in a river



Footage caption Witnesses said there were "hundreds upon hundreds" of dead fish in the river

Hundreds of fish have been killed in a pollution incident in a river in Wales.
The source of the pollution in the Afon Llynfi, a tributary to the River Wye, is being investigated by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
NRW said about 200 bullheads had been found dead at the site, near Pontithel in Powys.
Emily Tilling, who lives near the river said the number of dead fish, which included brown trout and grayling, was many hundreds more.
She raised the alarm after noticing an "overpowering chemical smell" during a dog walk on Friday evening.
She said: "I called it in to NRW from the riverbank straight away, and when I went back later on there were crayfish crawling up the bank to escape the water, and fish lying on the rocks gasping for breath.
"There were eels struggling by the shoreline. I've never seen anything like it.
"The river had been running clear that afternoon, but it had turned a dirty grey-green colour and there was an overpowering chemical smell in the air, slightly chlorinated."



Two dead crayfishImage copyright Hook News
Image caption Crayfish were among the creatures which were found dead at the pollution spill
Another witness, David Brunsdon, from Caerphilly, said the scene was "heartbreaking".
"As we walked across the field, the smell hit us. It smelt like something dead, rotting. It was a horrible, musky smell," he said.
"There were hundreds upon hundreds of dead fish - from tiny fry, to Grayling, to a sizeable, nine-inch trout. I think there were between 500-1500 dead fish."
NRW said: "We are currently at the scene of an ongoing pollution incident at Pontithel, near Greater Porthamel.
"It has resulted in around 200 dead bullheads in a seven metre stretch of the Llynfi river. The investigation into the source of the pollution is ongoing."
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Then there was this gem of plan. Seems to me its all been tried on the Wye for the past 22 years  What's new???????????????????

Dr SA link to NRW 'Investing in our Rivers to Reverse the Decline of salmon & Sea Trout':
Then I saw this last paragraph..  Really!!! Have not stopped laughing at the sheer nerve and shamelessness of the below quote;
Stephen Marsh – Smith for Afonydd Cymru said:
“This project provides an important opportunity to tackle many of the problems across Wales’ rivers. It is a step change upwards in cooperation and coordination between the Rivers Trusts and NRW, with the actual on-site delivery devolved to each regional trust. We look forward to reporting at completion and seeing the benefits within Welsh fisheries.”
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Then we get some sense at last;

Press Release

Pollution incident on River Llynfi 31/07/2020

Yesterday’s highly distressing news from the Afon Llynfi, a tributary to the River Wye, near Pontithel in Powys is beyond belief.
Whilst the details and type of incident are not exactly known at this time it seems likely to be catastrophic to the ecology and fish stocks in the river.

This is not the first time there has been a major incident in this area. The last major incident in the same area being back in 2016 and again the initial incident report relied on members of the public to notify the authorities.

Recently there has been significant concern expressed, both locally and nationally, about the water quality of our rivers and streams, and comes amid concerns over the current appalling state of the river Wye. There have been too many incidents now with little vigorous enforcement and a lack of direction from the NRW executive.
NRW’s lack of stringent monitoring and preventative action with no precautionary approach continue to expose their failings.
The Welsh Government must step in now and supported by Defra must ensure the environmental failings at both NRW and Powys CC are closed out as a matter of great urgency.

The Wye Salmon Association will be pressing the Wye Local Fisheries Group to demand an independent review be commissioned into NRW’s and PCC’s actions over the last 5 years with an immediate need to close out management, monitoring and enforcement inadequacies and expose their likely failings....

Enough is enough, our river environments must be protected and right now they are not.

All angling and other interest groups must come together to break this relentless increasing trend of disastrous incidents and demand professional and appropriate control, the laws are there they need to be policed and enforced.

Further updates will follow....

Notes to Editors

Wye Salmon Association (WSA) - Bio

A voluntary organisation established in 2010.
It’s mission, the protection, restoration, and conservation of salmon and salmon fishing on the iconic river Wye.
We encourage the angling community to use their skills, knowledge, and experience in supporting this aim.
We provide a voice and meaningful representation in the decision-making processes, and lobby agencies responsible for the current state of the Wye fishery.
As an independent angling body, WSA are the largest on the river dedicated to game angling.
Today membership has grown to 400, a total with associates of some 700 members, including anglers, riparian owners, gillies, and angling clubs
 WSA are represented on the Wye Local Fishery Group, the Wales Fisheries Forum and the Wye Catchment Partnership and are donors and supporter to Atlantic Salmon Trust, and members of the Angling Trust.
WSA offer ecology and fly-fishing courses to junior schools in Herefordshire and Powys.
Our members are currently involved running projects monitoring river and stream temperatures, working with Cardiff University PhD students to establish data on the impact of climate change affecting reproductive performance and survival of salmon eggs.
In response to the current explosion in algae blooms, reaching far up into the headwaters of the catchment.  WSA volunteers have also responded by establishing a ‘citizen science’ style project collecting phosphate data at eight locations on the rivers Wye, Ithon and Llynfi. Phosphate is a worrying threat to the river, its fish and ecology,

Wye Local Fishery Group (WLFG) Bio

There are nine Local Fishery Groups (LFGs) in Wales (Wye, Usk, Taff, Gower, West Wales, Ceredigion South, Ceredigion North, Gwynedd and Dee and Clwyd). These non-statutory groups normally meet at least twice a year. They were set up by NRW.

·         To act as a communication link with representative fisheries interests and fishing bodies and individuals on fisheries management, enforcement, and related issues
·         To provide a forum for the exchange of fisheries management information
·         To seek views and advice from group members about fisheries management and related issues
·         To consider the ecological, biological, and economic impact of emerging and new issues affecting our fisheries
·         To raise awareness in the fisheries community and other interested parties regarding development of the fisheries resources and the sharing of good practice
·         To facilitate partnership working




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