Natural Resources Wales investigates fish kill incident in River Rhymney tributary

Officers from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) are investigating a pollution incident in South East Wales, which resulted in significant fish kill in the Nant Cylla tributary of the River Rhymney on Monday 21 March.

NRW officers attended the site shortly after receiving reports of discolouration and froth affecting approximately one mile of the river.

Water samples  were taken, and a fishery assessment was carried out, with officers confirming that upwards of 300 fish had been killed, including Brown Trout and Sticklebacks. A follow up visit took place on Tuesday 22 March.

Officers have since been able to identify the source of the pollution and confirm that leaks into the watercourse have ceased.

The samples will now be analysed and will inform NRW’s next course of action.

Jon Goldsworthy, Operations Managers for Natural Resources Wales said:

Protecting Wales’ rivers and the communities and wildlife that depend on them is an important part of the work that we do. As soon as we received reports of this incident, our officers were out on site to investigate.

Unfortunately, we can confirm that over 300 fish have been killed in this pollution incident, which will have a significant impact on local fish stocks.

We believe we have found the source and we’ll consider what action to take next, including any appropriate enforcement action to be taken against those responsible.

We’re grateful to those who reported this incident to us. We would encourage anyone to report signs of pollution to us on 0300 065 3000, or via our website to ensure we can respond as swiftly as possible.