**Tidal Fish Kill June 2011**

Springwatch would have covered it if loads of birds or cute and cuddlies were dying. Last year their them was migrations, i wrote in a few times asking why fish migrations weren't covered especially elvers as it used to be a massive migration up most rivers and thought it might be good as the decline is well stated. Not a mention, even had my own footage. The only time eels were mentioned was when someone sent in a film of a MINK playing with an eel on someones veranda, The comment being " what a fantastic, efficient predator the mink is if it can catch an eel" Says it all really when a non native invasive species gets applauded over a species that is endangered!!!.

OOOPs sorry for going off topic.

From the EA

A 10inch specimen Dace, dead, very sad

^^ Lovely dace - would love that on a stick float, size 20 hook to 1lb bottom.

Although you've all now seen many images of the fish kill, hopefully these will still be of interest and a bit different. Courtesy of Paul Sullivan's steady shutter.

This pic clearly shows 3 year classes of dace dead (the 3 fish far right)

Can you spot the flounder in this pic? The camo is so good we missed it Monday and didn't see it till we inspected the photos. Unfortunately, as it was so well hidden, it will now be dead.

What is the big fish? For scale, you can see fish of a few ounces behind it both sides of its tail.

The EA Fisheries call these Thames jellyfish. We saw too many.

my guess is a chub. maybe a record!

thats definately a dace , look at the pelvic fin .... A good one too .... Probably getting on for a pound . Cracking fish if still alive , unfortunately not . Fish of a lifetime !

let me guess , another raw sewage dump with all this rainwater today ???
I bleedin hope not !!!

I've just posted the following on the BBC 'Spring Watch' website forum in the hope of reaching a wider audience.........can any one think of any other mass audiences we could reach?


The State of the Thames in London today.

Posted by BarryK:

I'm writing this message to Spingwatch viewers in order to try and get the attention of the many millions of nature lovers who watch the programme.

Many of you will already know of the serious pollution of the Thames this week.

Once again there has been a massive discharge of raw sewage, causing the probable destruction of the whole food chain, everything from shrimps to specimen fish, including adult and juvenile Roach, Dace, Bream, Flounders, Bass and Eels - European Eels being a species that are very much at risk, if not endangered.

The sewage pollution is due to the storms last weekend when several overloaded sewers flooded into the river, it's calculated that a total of 450 million cubic metres was discharged, 200 million cubic metres of this was discharged legally and quite deliberately from the storm tanks at the Mogden sewage works in Isleworth.

What many people will not realise is that these discharges are continually occurring - In the last 10 months Mogden have released quantities of sewage, on average about once every 13 days - the total amount of these other discharges is not known.

The dire effects of this latest discharge has been exacerbated by the fact that the Thames is at a very low level due to lack of rain this spring, also due to the fact that the discharge was mad at low tide.

If you need more information on this matter, a Google news search with the words 'Thames pollution' will bring a host of news articles, including the BBC London News and ITV London today, also articles from the Guardian and other newspapers.

There is also much more information on the 'Thames Anglers Conservancy' website here:

t-a-c.actionboard.ne...

Finally, to put things into perspective, 400,000 cubic meters of sewage would be enough to fill approximately 180 Olympic swimming pools.

Please help to get this foul practice stopped.

Thanks and kind regards

Barry Kneller
Essex
[i]

Sad day, lets hope we dont see it again too soon, but think we might

David Harvey wrote:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23959257-super-sewer-has-to-be-built-or-thousands-more-fish-will-die.do

Keep all these links to news reports coming everyone, as I'm joining all their websites (where possible) and then I am using a variation of this comment below, which I'm posing in their news blogs;

Take a look at this video on YouTube taken by my fellow members of the Thames Anglers' Conservancy on the evening of the incident;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmJwgL15NG8

The pressures we place on the River Thames and its habitats are immense, and despite the likes of anglers and boaters (plus other recreational users), and the risks we face, the aquatic life continues to suffer through pollution, proposed hydropower projects, eroding habitat, flow regimes, migration, abstraction of water, poaching, illegal netting, predation, disease, endocrine-disrupting compounds etc. etc. etc.

This cannot continue, and rather cynically I believe that Thames Water will use this to further their position concerning the objections (by some members of the community), that are voicing opposition to the Thames Tunnel being built.

Incidentally, as a concerned group representing anglers on the Thames, the Thames Anglers' Conservancy believe that the tunnel should be built sooner rather than later, but, it won't be the privately owned company that will pay for the project, it will see an additional annual increase to their consumers bills on an annual basis to the tune of £60, at least.

This for a company that is owned by an investment banking group - Macquarie Group - based in Australasia, that boasts of a £140bn portfolio... that earned £435mn out of Thames Water alone in 2009.

Utterly disgusting and immoral, but not so surprisingly, the previous Conservative Govt. made this practice legal through "temporary" discharge consents in 1989 when they sold off the water utilities to private ownership.

This happens in varying amounts of discharge nearly once a week on the Thames alone, averaging 39 million tonnes (or 39 billion litres) per annum...

And here’s another notification by Thames Water today;

Within the next hour and a half, Hammersmith Sewage Pumping Station will be discharging heavily diluted storm water into the River Thames.

We regret the necessity to discharge partly treated effluent in this way.

Until this essential work is done, London's sewer network - which is Victorian - and other facilities will remain overstretched. This means that after heavy rain there is simply nowhere else for excess storm sewage to go, which is why these discharges, though regrettable, are legal and consented.

Regards
Thames Water

And so it continues...



Richard

Quote :

averaging 39 million tonnes (or 39 million litres)

1 litre of water weights 1kg,
1000 litres = 1 cubic metre,
39 million tonnes would be 39 million cubic metres

(But nice message Richard sorry no offence intended!)

EdRandall wrote:

Quote :

averaging 39 million tonnes (or 39 million litres)

1 litre of water weights 1kg,
1000 litres = 1 cubic metre,
39 million tonnes would be 39 million cubic metres

(But nice message Richard sorry no offence intended!)

Aarrgghhh... I meant 39 billion litres...

Good spot Ed!


Richard

David Harvey wrote:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23959257-super-sewer-has-to-be-built-or-thousands-more-fish-will-die.do

Just seen that same article in today's Evening Standard....for anyone who doesn't commute or live in London it's London's main newspaper.

Been reading it 10 years on the train every day...can't ever remember anglers getting a news story in there so well played Dave

Shame they saw fit to bury it on page 21.

^^ Barry and Rich - good work lads.

We can't stop this happening but we can shame/ pressure Thames Water into finishing that extra capacity at Mogden on time....plus tip the balance against people holding up the tunnel thru planning objections.

The reaction in the comments below the Guardian article are exactly what we want, especially with rowers and Thames21 chiming in

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/09/fish-thames-sewage

I have arranged a little talk on brooklands radio at 1015am tomorrow, about the fish kill and lack of reprose by people/press apart from us, I need a letter/notes to read out from TAC, one A4 will do, its just a 5min thing

nice one the crazy crab.if you get enough airspace mention the meeting on hydro and our open day on 19th.

cheers mate

ok, william, will try, only got 5mins, have to agree frist with radio Staaion on wot to talk about and not talk about, but will try and slip it in at the end, and get the my nuckals raped

barry, rich, steve, ed, in fact everyone for all they've done and are doing, mucho mucho gracias senors

keith I'll mail you some speel, feel free to take what you like from above

Take a look at this link: http://tiny.cc/npr50

This is the sort of thing we're up against -typical bloody nimbies with their biased and unproven 'facts' - put it anywhere else but not here..............Grrr!

How about we get up one of those Downing Street petitions?

If we get all our friends to sign, also post it on all the fishing/boating/enviromental forums.........we might also gain a lot more members.....

IF anyone has any more to add, put it down and i will try and put it in, come 0830hrs, the final verson will be done for 1015hrs radio call

spelling mistackes, i know, but i will be reading this



Fish kill

Major pollution, neely as worse as 2004, over 100,000 fish killed

As we know, last weekend, there was a majer rain full, after moths of little or no rain, the system could not cop,e so sewage was pumed into the thames, this happeded Monday 06, hammersmith downwards,

The EA where out with bubbler boats and hydrogen peroxide equipment to put oxergin back into the water

As an angler, I find this situation rather upsetting, not because I am an angler, because none off the other animal loving organization give a hoot about fish, as it is not a fury amimal or a bird,

The RSPCA and spingwatch are not interested that 100.000 fish have just died, if it was a few birds dying on the thames there would be an uproar

It was not until Wednesday, 2 days after it happened that it was on the news, where they intervired David Harver from T.A.C. A Voluntary organization that helps look after the lower thames,

What is needed is a better sewage system built to cope with this kind of thing, the last one was build in 1850(ish) by Joseph Bazalgette, a great man of many telants for his time, there is one in the pipe line, but a lot of people living in London do not wont this to happen “why”, do they wont to live in human muck, drink water that has had big lumps floating in it,

The majority of angerlers respect the land and its animal population, I cannot say 100% of anglers do, its like any sport or hobby, you always get a bad apple in the box, do all dog owners pick up thire dogs waste of the ground, do boat owners always empty there waste in the prober plases, or over the side when no one is looking, “NO”,

If an angler see a injured animal when he/she is fishing they whill help out, we have a number on our fishing licance to ring,

Personally Keith I'd leave out the bit about not 100% of anglers respecting the land. I'd say instead that we spend more time by the waterside than any other section of leisure users and therefore see ourselves as the eyes and ears of the river.....or something like that you feel happy with.

I know you ran as a member of parliament more than once and have more campaigning experience than anyone in the club...far as we know...so you'll do us proud. Good luck mate.

Get stuck in Keith and give it your "Raving" best!


Richard

Steve Holmes wrote:

Personally Keith I'd leave out the bit about not 100% of anglers respecting the land. I'd say instead that we spend more time by the waterside than any other section of leisure users and therefore see ourselves as the eyes and ears of the river.....or something like that you feel happy with.

I know you ran as a member of parliament more than once and have more campaigning experience than anyone in the club...far as we know...so you'll do us proud. Good luck mate.

OK, JUST wot i need, will change it around, a bit of re-wording

good on ya keith, crack on m8, we're all ammateurs 'ere, but we sure is making a difference

UP DATED VERSON NUMBER 1


Fish kill

Major pollution, nealy as worse as 2004, over 100,000 fish killed

As we know, last weekend, there was a majer rain full, after months of little or no rain, the system could not cope, so sewage was pumed into the thames, this happeded Monday 06, hammersmith downwards,

The EA where out with bubbler boats and hydrogen peroxide equipment to put oxygen back into the water

As an angler, I find this situation rather upsetting, not because I am an angler, its because none off the other animal loving organization give a hoot about fish, as it is not a fury amimal or a bird,

The RSPCA and spingwatch are not interested that 100.000 fish have just died, if it was a few birds dying on the thames there would be an uproar

It was not until Wednesday, 2 days after it happened that it was on the news, where they intervired David Harver from T.A.C. A Voluntary organization that helps look after the lower thames, congratulations to you and T.A.C.,

What is needed is a better sewage system to be built to cope with this kind of thing, the last one was build was in 1850(ish) by Joseph Bazalgette, a great man of many telants for his time, there is one in the pipe line, but a lot of people living in London;/hammersmith and fulham area, the “RATs”, they call them selfs I think, an apropete name to call them selfs, who do not wont this to happen “why”, do they wont to live in human muck, drink water that has had big lumps floating in it,

Angerlers respect the land and its animal population, we spend more time by the waterside than any other section of leisure users and therefore see ourselves as the eyes and ears of the river, I cannot say that for every sport or hobby, you always get a bad apple in every box, do all dog owners pick up thire dogs waste of the ground, do boat owners always empty there waste in the prober plasces, or over the side when no one is looking, “NO”,

If an angler see a injured animal when he/she is fishing they whill help out, we have a number on our fishing licance to ring,

This is nothing to do with the EA or the present government, the EA have done thire upmost to clean up, I blame the water bourd, we pay them to clean up our waste and drinking water, then we have a bit off rain, they, the water bourd, then open a few gates, dump 1000,000s gls of wast into the thames, and we the tax payer have to pay again, to clean it up, and “they” the water bourd have saved them self a bit of money, so that the so called “FAT CATS” can have a bigger bonies in thire pockit

Somethink has to be done, why should we have to pay twice for water, get the new sewagE system sorted, if the “RATS” do not like it “TUFF”, why should 100 odd rich people make 3 to 4 millon people suffer, buggers belive

And that ladies and genterman is my say on the matter

ok m8, its thames water, not water board, you're giving your age away buddy