Anglers point finger at barge for alarming fish death toll

The 500 tonne freight barge, real name the Off Roader, has begun trial runs on both the South Yorkshire Navigation and the Aire and Calder Canal carrying solid materials. It has received plaudits for taking lorry transport off the roads.

However one such visit left anglers fishing the Kilnhurst stretch of the South Yorkshire Navigation almost lost for words. Angler Gary Yorke told the Advertiser: “No sooner had the craft passed than dead fish began to appear on the surface. Some had had their heads cut off while others had been cut and bruised.

"There must have been hundreds all the way across the canal from bank to bank and others following the boat in its wake. A colleague and I were able to scoop loads of them from the water with our landing nets. I have never ever seen anything like it.

"Needless to say, we fished on for hours afterwards and never caught a fish.”

The issue has alerted the Kilnhurst and District Angling Alliance, which leases some of the waters affected from the Canal and River Trust, and the Advertiser’s angling correspondent, Martin Read.

He said: “I was alerted to the problem within minutes and went to have a look myself, by which time all the dead fish had gone. They’d been eaten by at least 25 gulls which were following behind the barge.”

Realising that little could be done, Mr Read left and returned the following morning to see the craft returning from Rotherham.

"Once again, the picture was the same,” he added. “The boat, all 60m of it, passed by and as soon as it did dead fish came to the surface.

"Video evidence shows that the boat was clearly breaking the 4mph speed limit.

"I reported the incident as a fish kill to both the Environment Agency and the Canal and River Trust but have yet to receive a formal reply.

"I can’t say if this was the first time this tragedy had occurred because unless someone actually witnesses the event then all the evidence, i.e. dead fish, have been eaten within minutes.

"The potential to ruin the water as a fishery is enormous.”

The barge was acquired by Casper River and Canal Transport last year.

The Environment Agency said: “We responded quickly to a report from a member of the public on January 9 about dead fish in the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation at Kilnhurst. The person believed this had been caused by a large boat transporting oil. Following an investigation, our duty officer confirmed there was no pollution involved and passed on the details to the Canal & River Trust, who manage the canal network.”

A spokesman for the Canal and River Trust said it was investigating.

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