River Leadon (Severn): Salmon will be in the swim again at Ledbury

[Editor]

On the 20 October 2009, Environment Agency officers stocked 23,500 baby salmon at various places on the River Leadon near Ledbury, to replace fish lost during a series of recent pollution incidents.

The young fish, all nearly one year old, were raised at the Environment Agency’s Clywedog Dam hatchery.

After concerted efforts by the Environment Agency in the last few years to re-establish salmon in the River Leadon, a number of the fish were killed recently during several pollution incidents.

As well as building up salmon populations Environment Agency officers have been doing a lot of work to improve the River Leadon. We are working on partnership projects, in conjunction with Natural England’s catchment sensitive farming initiatives, to encourage farmers to enter agri-environment schemes which give them money to set land aside as wildlife habitat.

Fisheries Officer, Chris Bainger, said of the release “Targeted releases of fish, such as these young salmon which will find a new home in the Leadon, help to make sure that fish populations continue to thrive.

"Good water quality is vital to the survival of these young fish. We urge people to help them thrive by taking care to ensure that the River Leadon does not become polluted again. Everyone has a part to play in securing their future by making sure the river stays clean and reporting any instances of pollution to us immediately.”

Local people, especially those who use the river for recreation, can help by reporting any signs of pollution to us immediately on our free 24hr Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.