Picture the scene – You’re out walking in the heart of the Lake District, having just visited Beatrix Potter’s enchanting home in Near Sawrey. Strolling down the road, you begin to explore Cunsey Beck, one of the myriad streams flowing into Lake Windermere. Walks like this have brought joy to generations - from Potter to Wordsworth to Coleridge - and now, to you.
But something seems off. First your nose and soon your eyes meet the ghastly scene of a thousand dead fish belly up in the grey water. Being local to the area, you’re aware of a sewage treatment works (STW) upstream of the fish kill. Where you stand downstream, the devastation is clear: countless fish lie dead. Just 200 metres upstream, not a single dead fish is found. Concerned, you phone the Environment Agency (EA) to report the incident, stating the likely cause as the STW as there is a distinct grey cloud surrounding the outlet of the sewage works, and leave them to investigate.
Distressingly, these events are far from fiction. On 21st June 2022, a fish kill occurred under eerily similar circumstances on Cunsey Beck. 2.5 years later, questions remain unanswered, and no prosecutions have been made. The EA’s investigation ruled out the STW as the cause of the fish kill, relying on woefully inadequate evidence—evidence that was available, but inexplicably ignored.
This is not an isolated case. We’ve seen multiple fish kills in Oxfordshire in recent years, including at Carterton in 2021, Witney in 2016, and on the River Evenlode in 2015. Elsewhere, Wessex Water was responsible for killing 2,000 fish in Weston-Super-Mare, while Anglian Water was fined £300,000 for killing thousands more. The list goes on.
In many cases, the EA will not respond to a fish kill incident at all. Even when they do, like at Cunsey Beck, investigations can be grossly mishandled. As a result, the United Utilities STW – likely the polluter – was let off the hook. While many EA staff do fantastic work, they do so with one hand behind their backs due to years of budget cuts and associated policy decisions.
Meanwhile, members of the public, along with a network of NGOs have been working all-hands-on-deck to reveal the true extent of pollution and the broken water system responsible. We think -
It’s about time we investigated fish kills ourselves.
Working with the Institute of Fisheries Management (IFM), WASP has produced a fish kill investigation guide. Providing step-by-step guidance, this is a comprehensive resource for anyone to contribute valuable, scientifically rigorous evidence in response to fish kill incidents.
At no point does it interfere with any EA investigation (if launched) and has two components:
1) Guidance document – Containing all the information you need to carry out your investigation, from accurate photographic evidence to water quality testing locations.
2) Record keeping (Epicollect) – A step-by-step, accurate method of recording observations and measurements.
From the Windrush to Windemere, more fish kills will occur. By following this guide, anyone could help reveal the cause of such events, hold polluters to account, and support a resource-strapped regulator. We believe this guide is essential for enabling the general public to act swiftly, accurately, and professionally to address environmental crimes. We welcome the EA to have open dialogue with us and others about how this can be further refined. Together, we can protect our waters and wildlife for future generations.
In order for this guide to be used, people must know it exists. So, please share this in any way you can.
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