Fish Legal has been alerted to a serious agricultural pollution that took place on 28th April on a tributary of the River Teifi. Slurry escaping from a farm on Wednesday evening poured into the Afon Cych, which feeds into the Teifi - known by anglers as the “Queen of Rivers” - at Abercych. Environment Agency officers and Fish Legal members - the Teifi Trout Association - were at the river bank yesterday assessing the extent of the fish kill.

It is understood that the farmer responsible for the pollution has been cautioned.

An eye witness 2 miles downstream of where the pollution went in described the water level rising by around 18 inches as a result of the spill. With very little rain in the area recently to dilute its potency in the river early indications are of environmental damage on a massive scale.

John Holt, local resident and member of the Teifi Trout Association, said:
“We were working upstream from Environment Agency officers and over a 400yard stretch we pulled out hundreds of dead fish. We had buckets full of a mix of large sea trout and brown trout up to 10 inches long. That’s broodstock. We didn’t even begin to collect up all the tiny fry and fingerlings that littered the river bed.  Many of them would have hatched out this year”.

He added:
“I would say at least 25,000 fish must have been killed overall.”

Following the outcome of the Environment Agency’s investigation, Fish Legal will look to take legal action against the farmer on behalf of the Association to fully compensate the club for the impact to its fishing.