Saving the river fish in the UK as lack of rains dries up water bodies

The population of healthy fish in the UK is drying up because of lack of rains. Low level of water in many places have sent out alarms. Therefore, the Environment Agency has stepped in and it is drawing up plans to save them. The population of healthy fish is now corralled by the lowest water levels that many can remember. After waiting till the last minute, the agency has plans to rescue fish in some of the most rapidly vanishing pools and transfer them to other parts of the river. They plan to use a technique called electro-fishing. It involves passing an electric current through the water. This stuns the fish on a temporary basis. It is then collected and transferred to tanks that are full of oxygenated water. River fish being moved in struggle to survive low water levels. This is no doubt a drastic step. There are possibilities that some of the fish might not survive. They are already stressed due to a lack of oxygen and high temperatures in the small pools to which they have been confined for weeks. However, the loss might be far less than the fish that survive.

The River Wye on the Welsh/English border is home to some of our most vulnerable fish populations. These include salmon and sea trout that must migrate the length of the river. The salmon have been dying for weeks because of not just low levels of water and oxygen but also due to rising levels of pollution. Drop of water levels mean rise in concentrations of pollution. Cattle and poultry farms near the bodies of water add to existing pollution from sewage treatment works. The ongoing drought has worsened the situation.

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