A fisherman who has taken over his family's historic fishery has said he's "never seen anything like" the number of dead salmon showing up in the River Wye this summer. Martin Morgan, the secretary of the Black Rock Lave Net Heritage fishery, has warned that the number of dead salmon is unprecedented and will only get worse if nothing is done.
He said: "We're seeing dead salmon everywhere. It's devastating, it's really highlighting what's happening on the Wye, and this dry spell is compounding it.
"The salmon are dying and nobody seems to be trying to do anything about it. It's very emotive for me - in my book, I think they'll all die."
Mr Morgan explained that the problem is likely caused by a mixture of pollution in the rivers, low oxygen in the water, and low water levels following the heatwave. He said he's counted dozens of salmon either "stone-dead" or dying in the Wye.
He warned: "It's a car crash. Talking to local people, they say the water level is worse than it was in 1976. Of course salmon died then but we've moved on in half a century. There should be something in place."
He stressed that he's not an expert - but had a few ideas on how the situation could be fixed: "We're going to get hot summers every now and again, but the pumping of sewage into the water and extraction, even in times of drought... they don't stop.
"In rivers like the Tyne, they're not dying because they're releasing water from a dam constantly and keeping the river fresh. Why can't you get some machinery to blast some water into the Wye? Circulate the water, do something, not just commentate on what's going to happen. If it continues in the same vein, and it looks like it's going to, all the salmon are going to die - it's a sad, sad situation."
He was also critical of Natural Resources Wales, saying: "I haven't seen anywhere that Natural Resources Wales are addressing this problem. This has been brewing up for weeks and weeks and weeks, and at one point you could jump across the Wye."
In response, Natural Resources Wales said it had previously released more water into the River Wye from the water bank in the Elan Valley to help lessen the impact of low water levels and high temperatures on fish stocks during the hot weather. But it added that the video only showed one part of a "stark situation" faced in Wales with the climate and nature emergencies, stressing "it is unfortunate, but not surprising that we are seeing some dead and distressed fish".
The lave net fishery has been in Mr Morgan's family for generations, as far back as his great-grandfather. It now operates under a strict fishing limit and now functions mainly as a tourist site to teach people about the history of lave net fishing.
This is why Mr Morgan is so keen to spread awareness of the damage being done to the historic river's salmon population. He frequently posts on the fishery's Facebook page alerting people to issues with the salmon population.
The salmon dying in the Wye won't directly affect Mr Morgan's business as his fishing is heavily limited and is done in the Severn estuary, but he's warned that salmon stocks may never recover unless action is taken.
Ben Wilson, principal fisheries advisor for Natural Resources Wales, said: “As Wales continues to experience prolonged dry weather, our teams have been working hard to monitor and respond to incidents and reports of dry rivers, fish mortality and reduced dissolved oxygen (DO) in our rivers and lakes.
“This video shows one element of the stark situation we find ourselves in with the climate and nature emergencies. Given the current weather conditions, it is unfortunate, but not surprising that we are seeing some dead and distressed fish.
“In some situations, like large pollution incidents, we might be able to attempt to rescue fish that are at risk, however this isn’t usually practical in extreme low flows and high temperatures. Attempting to move fish has minimal effect on how many fish survive during a drought as many would likely die from the additional stress of being caught and moved.
“We have previously released more water in to the River Wye from the water bank in Elan Valley to help lessen the impact of low water levels and high temperatures on fish stocks during the hot weather. We continue to review this but as water stocks are low, we have to consider things on a case by case basis.
“We are continuing to work closely with Welsh Government, water companies, navigation authorities and other organisations on any updates and emerging concerns”
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