Barge blamed for another fish kill on South Yorkshire waterway

The 500 tonne freight barge has been nicknamed “The Fish Mincer” by local anglers following a spate of fish deaths.

A year ago, hundreds were killed on the Kilnhurst stretch of the South Yorkshire Navigation after the vessel, called the Off Roader, passed through.

Now even more dead fish have allegedly been left in its wake at Sprotbrough Lock.

Angler Dave Walker watched in horror as the boat passed through.

"Hundreds of dead or dying fish appeared on the surface.,” he said. “There were lots of roach and also skimmers, tench and large bream, It was horrendous.

"I shouted the boat operator but he took no notice. It's not the first time I've witnessed such a terrible scene but no-one, least of all the Canal and Rivers Trust, appears to care.”

Anglers believe the latest fish kill is only the tip of the iceberg.

They include Martin Read, the Rotherham Advertiser’s Angling correspondent.

“It’s the same boat, same problem, and it could be happening every week for all we know,” he said.

"Within 15 minutes the seagulls have eaten all the dead fish – that’s what happened at Kilnhurst – so unless you have some stationed on all the locks then you haven't got a chance of noticing these incidents happening.

"If a farmer or individual killed so many fish they would be prosecuted.”

The Off Roader carries solid materials and has received praise for taking lorry transport off the roads.

It began with trial runs on both the South Yorkshire Navigation and the Aire and Calder Canal.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We received a call from a member of the public to our incident hotline on 30 January reporting a large number of dead fish in the River Don at Sprotbrough the previous day.

“We raised the issue with the Canal and Rivers Trust, as the navigation authority for the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, and the Trust will investigate the cause.

“Environmental incidents can be reported to our 24/7 hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”