On Monday 3 July, the BBC reported there have been unprecedented fish deaths in rivers due to record hot temperatures in June. The piece highlights that the Environment Agency has received more reports of dead fish than the same time last year, and also includes a comment from the Angling Trust who say they normally expect rivers to be affected later in the summer when it's hotter and drier.

While extreme hot temperatures and thunderstorms can be highly dangerous for fish, fish incidents are often the combination of several factors including temperature, water levels or flows, algal blooms, pollution and fish disease.

The Environment Agency recognise the harmful and serious risks that fish face due to prolonged dry weather and continue to respond to incident reports to help mitigate the impacts of recent high temperatures. This includes deploying aeration equipment to restore dissolved oxygen levels in watercourses; providing advice to angling clubs, fisheries, and anglers; and occasionally, as a last resort, relocating fish.

Dr Graeme Storey, Fisheries Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

Environment Agency fisheries teams have been responding round the clock to numerous reports of dead or distressed fish across the country.

While extreme weather including continuous hot temperatures and thunderstorms can be highly dangerous for fish, these incidents aren’t always due to a single cause and it is often the combination of several factors including temperature, water levels or flows, algal blooms, pollution and fish disease.

Responses to such incidents can include reoxygenating water and rescuing fish where river flows are especially low.

We encourage members of the public who see dead fish or fish in distress to contact our incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60 and alert the fishery owner or angling club where possible.