BBC News | UK | Fish stock wiped out by slurry

The deaths of about 80,000 fish in a two-mile stretch of river polluted with farm slurry has been described as a "disaster".

An unknown quantity of the poisonous liquid escaped into Bradiford Water at Muddiford, near Barnstaple in north Devon.

Plaistow Mills fish farm, downstream of the pollution, lost almost its entire stock of trout amounting to 80,000 fish.

Slurry is high in ammonia, which is toxic to fish, and strips oxygen from the water.

Ben Woodhouse, from the Environment Agency, said: "This is a severe pollution incident.

'Wiped out'

"We are talking about a two-mile stretch of the river where all the fish have died and a fish farm that has been almost totally wiped out."

Jan Wirtz, who runs the fish farm with her husband, said the river had looked like an oil spill and they had not yet calculated the financial cost of the pollution.

But she added: "It is our livelihood gone. It is a disaster to us."

A clearing-up operation is under way
"We had to stand in the slurry ourselves for about an hour and a half and heave the fish out."

Mrs Wirtz said it would take them a long time to recover as they had to remove all the dead fish and start all over again. The river could be severely damaged for three to five years.

"We have had kingfishers come here, along with otters and masses of dragonflies. It is a very beautiful little river.

"This is disgusting and it shouldn't happen.," she stated.

Intake shut

A second fish farm at West Pilton was able to shut off its water intake to stop the pollution entering and so escaped major damage.

The Environment Agency was informed of the pollution by a telephone call to its hotline on Friday evening.

It mounted an emergency operation overnight and has traced the source of pollution to a local farm.

An investigation into the precise cause of the incident has begun.


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