Disaster for fish on Norfolk Broads

Disaster for fish on Norfolk Broads

Author:


Catherine Burbage

Date published:


2-Nov-2006

Keywords:



The Norfolk Broads suffered one of the worst incidents of fish deaths from natural causes in the last 15 years yesterday (1 November). The Environment Agency estimates that 10s of thousands of fish have died due to saltwater coming up the Broads system on the incoming tide, driven by strong north westerly winds.

"With the co-operation of Herbert Woods Boatyard at Potter Heigham, the Agency has raised the fish barrier to protect thousands of fish that over-winter in the boatyard area. However, from our initial investigations, it appears that many fish may have stayed lower down the rivers closer to the sea, because of the unseasonally warm weather we have had. This means that they were caught out when the sudden rush of seawater entered the Broads on the incoming tide on Wednesday," explained Alison Bramwell from the Environment Agency.

"Because of the strong wind, seawater from the tide could not go back out to sea again, causing salt levels in the rivers to rise dramatically, killing the freshwater fish," explained Alison Bramwell.

Ms Bramwell continued, "We are still assessing the full extent of the problem and are doing everything we can to help, but a huge number of fish are affected. The forecast is for the wind to remain a north-westerly but not so strong, so we're hoping the seawater will be able to leave the Broads and improve the water for fish."

The Environment Agency can track the progress of saltwater via its monitoring network and thanks to the co-operation of landowners and boatyards, has been able to save hundreds of thousands of fish in the past. In February this year, again with the cooperation of Herbert Woods boatyard, the Environment Agency was able to raise the barrier in time to save thousands of fish that were over-wintering at the boatyard.

But the good news is that pikers are catching a few codling and bass....





















Goodness me, is that the time?

As villagers began clearing up after yesterday's floods it emerged that the greatest cost would be to the environment.

The massive surge of seawater up rivers, driven by the highest tides for a decade, decimated fish stocks across a wide area.

Environment Agency experts were yesterday investigating countless reports of dead fish of all species from the River Thurne at Potter Heigham, near Yarmouth, to protected marshes in Suffolk.

Agency spokesman Rita Penman said: "Tens of thousands of fish have been found dead at Potter Heigham in the biggest incident like this we have had for 15 years."

She said when saltwater went up the system, the agency routinely put down a barrier at Herbert Woods boatyard in Potter Heigham to allow the fish to find sanctuary in freshwater.

However, on this occasion, possibly because the water was warmer than normal, the fish had been further down river and could not be saved.

Thousands of young fish had also been found dead where the River Chett had overtopped its bank near Loddon, and in other parts of the river fish could be seen struggling in a small area of freshwater near the surface.

Her findings were backed up by Bill Maxted, from Broadland Riverine Boatcraft in Loddon Boatyard.

He said: "Now the water is running out, but we have got about 18in of freshwater in which there are thousands and thousands of fish in the outfall from Loddon Mill.

"Below that it is all saltwater. The Environment Agency tested salinity and oxygen levels and they said the oxygen levels underneath mean the fish will struggle to survive. We may end up with about 50,000 fish dying all the way down the river."

Ian Barthorpe, spokesman for the RSPB, said the flooding had badly affected its Suffolk reserves at Minsmere and Dingle Marshes, between Dunwich and Walberswick.

At Dingle Marshes, which is jointly run by the RSPB, Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Natural England, a large number of fish have been killed, sparking fears that the breeding numbers of species such as otters and bitterns which feed on the fish could be severely affected.

Minsmere was less badly affected, although Mr Barthorpe said the floodwater had breached dunes at the north end of the reserve, threatening its secondary defence wall that protected the freshwater reed bed.

Brundall was the worst hit village on the Broads, suffering its most severe flooding for decades, with 30 businesses, chalets and cars affected.

Robin Godber, chairman of Brundall Riverside Association and boss of Alexander Cruisers, said: "This is the highest we have seen it for 40 years. I have been up to my knees in water in my office. The road past the Yare pub and riverside chalets is only passable in a four-wheel drive."

Martin Broom, who runs Broom Marina in Brundall, said it raised the question whether the new broadland flood defences were actually contributing to problems in the villages. "If you raise and strengthen the banks, there is a danger you could be channelling water into villages instead of the marshes flooding," he said.

Sanderson Marine in Reedham suffered damage to batteries and alternators when floodwaters came into the boatyard.

Further up river at Cantley, part of the British Sugar site was 1ft deep in water that had to be pumped out.

Just when things started to look good in the area....

Brighter hopes for roach shoals

27 October 2006

The marvellous healing powers of nature where emphatically emphasised by the Environment Agency last week when it was revealed that the vast numbers of roach that anglers claimed had disappeared from the Rivers Bure and Thurne - as well as local boatyards and dykes - have been replaced by thousands of younger year classes.

Employing the modern hydro acoustic fish finding equipment instead of the rather haphazard trawling methods, the survey showed there are now substantial shoals of small roach in the Potter Heigham Boatyards that seemed empty two winters ago, and stocks of roach in the tidal rivers are again satisfactory, writes Roy Webster.

EA's local fishery officer Graham Gamble explained that surveys were carried out during and after the Norfolk Broads Championship on the River Bure at St Benets Abbey and since then working parties have been on the job in the boatyards.

?I can confirm that the fish biomass in these waters consisting of large shoals of bream and substantial numbers of roach are considered well up to standard,? confirmed Gamble.

?We have been working in conjunction and with the co-operation of the angling clubs who control some of these waters and Tony Gibbons of the NDAA who control the St Benets stretch of the River Bure and Keith Ford who runs the Yarmouth banks on the River Yare have been most helpful.?

According to the surveys there are also legions of small fish as well as sizable bream on Broads such as Hickling.

Gibbons commented: ?I have not seen any paperwork but the surveys confirm anglers' opinion that there are some year classes of roach missing. However, small roach up to about 4oz are making up the losses and I just hope nothing untoward happens to them because they are our future in seasons to come.?

The surveys on the Yarmouth banks of the River Yare reveal massive shoals of bream and several year classes of roach that have been producing specimens to over 2lbs among match anglers' catches.

Ford said: ?I do not believe our river has been poached by fish thieves to the same extent as the northern broads' rivers. It is heartening to know that our fishery is in such fine shape, and that is why scores of visiting anglers come here to enjoy some of the top river sport in the whole country.?

Wildlife areas facing continued threat


DAVID GREEN

IMPORTANT freshwater wildlife areas along the East Anglian coast were last night still under saltwater and vulnerable to further surges from the North Sea after suffering the worst damage in 20 years.

The Environment Agency estimates that tens of thousands of fish have died as the result of the sea breaking through natural defences and flooding freshwater areas.

However, the agency made clear yesterday that no short-term repairs could be carried out to breaches in natural sea defences - partly because there was not enough shingle in the area to bulldoze into the gaps.

It said it was also aware that with high tides forecast this weekend, it could not put staff at risk for health and safety reasons.

Dingle Marshes, an important freshwater nature reserve, has been left flooded with saltwater and exposed to the sea after about three quarters of a mile of its protective shingle bank was eroded by a stormy tidal surge on Wednesday morning.

The sea also broke through the dunes protecting part of the internationally important Minsmere bird reserve although a secondary, inner sea defence was not breached and saltwater did not get into sensitive areas.

At Carlton Marshes, near Lowestoft, saltwater invaded the high quality freshwater habitat and several national scarce species of wildlife are thought to be at risk.

The Environment Agency said many of the tens of thousands of fish which had died were in the Broads where saltwater was driven up the river system by a combination of a surge tide and strong north-westerly winds.

Officials from the agency, the RSPB and county wildlife trusts were yesterday still assessing the damage.

Dr Charles Beardall, Suffolk area manager for the Environment Agency, said staff were still assessing the damage and would be closely monitoring the situation over the next few days.

?There are no tidal surges at the moment and the weather forecast for the weekend is currently good so we are not anticipating any major problems,? he said.

Dr Beardall said a study was already under way about the management of sea defences in front of Dingle Marshes but this would not be concluded until the spring of next year following consultations with landowners, wildlife groups and local communities.

?We have got to look at the long term and find the most sustainable solution because trying to bulldoze shingle into the gaps may not be a realistic option any more,? Dr Beardall said.

Julian Roughton, Suffolk Wildlife Trust director, said flooding had occurred in several of its nature reserves as a result of the ?extraordinary power? of the sea.

At Dingle Marshes, a reserve managed jointly with the RSPB, large sections of the shingle ridge had been washed away and the sea had flooded across the site - further inland than during the last major breach three years ago.

It was accepted that the Dingle Marshes reserve was going to change and even if the sea was allowed to naturally flood the area it would still remain an important wildlife resource.

However, it would be necessary to find compensatory area for the freshwater habitat which would inevitably be lost.

?It is part of the changes that are happening on our coastline but the present flooding adds urgency to the need to resolve some of the issues,? Mr Roughton said.

The flooding at Carlton Marshes had ?major implications? because the reserve contained species which relied on the highest quality of freshwater, he added.

Local wildlife trust warden, Alan Miller, said he had moved 200 cattle and a tractor to safety off Dingle Marshes only a few hours before the sea broke through and flooded the area.

continues...

Ian Barthorpe, spokesman at the RSPB's flagship reserve at Minsmere, said a section of the dunes had been washed away between the National Trust's land at Dunwich Cliffs and the reserve's north wall, inundating an area in front of the sea wall.

?Saltwater has not come into the 'scrape' or the main freshwater reedbeds, but this leaves the reserve vulnerable to further flooding,? he said.

Minsmere reserve and visitor centre remained open as normal but there were restrictions on access to the beach.

The RSPB is stressing the need to protect coastal habitats as far as possible and create new freshwater wetlands secure from rising sea levels.

Dr Keith Tovey of the climate research unit at the University of East Anglia, said local people would have to get used to such floods as global warming gathered pace.

?There have always been freak events like the floods of 1953 and you can't conclude anything from a single occurrence.

?However, where such events might have occurred once in a generation, they may now happen every decade and in the not-too-distant future that could be every two or three years,? he said.

"The RSPB is stressing the need to protect coastal habitats as far as possible and create new freshwater wetlands secure from rising sea levels."

Just as residents of coastal communities [Happisburgh etc]have stressed the need to protect their homes.
Sadly these needs are continually overlooked by Government/powers that be.

Colin

cofuscious say

man who live below sea level should learn to swim.

Just to remind you of this petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/nbroads/petition.html
We need all the help we can get. The fish kill, and it was only a neap tide for heavens sakesakes, will happen again. The great Broadland naturalist Ted Ellis predicted that this would happen, it has, and it's attributal to both the Environment agency and the Broads Authority. We NEED your support, thank you.