Missing Salmon Alliance Take Action Against River Pollution 

Missing Salmon Alliance Member, Fish Legal launch new film highlighting the detrimental effects of river pollution and the action they are taking against it.

The Missing Salmon Alliance is a collective of passionate conservationists focused on salmon, a species in crisis. The number of salmon returning to their spawning grounds has fallen dramatically since the 1970s and wild Atlantic salmon could be lost from many of our rivers within our lifetime if we don’t act now.

The Missing Salmon Alliance are advocating for the protection of freshwater environments and the improvement of water quality and quantity in order to reduce losses of salmon in our rivers, coastal waters, and the open ocean.

Missing Salmon Alliance member, Fish Legal is a not-for-profit organisation of dedicated lawyers who use the law on behalf of anglers to fight polluters and others who damage and threaten the water environment. Fish Legal secures compensation for its members to help restore polluted waters and challenges Government and regulators when they fail to protect fisheries.

A new film by Friction Collective and narrated by angler and actor Jim Murray traces Fish Legal’s history way back to 1948 and documents their work.

In particular, the film highlights Fish Legal’s current case on the River Wye, a well-renowned salmon river, and legal action that they took on Llyn Padarn, which suffered from algal blooms for years.

The River Wye is a highly protected habitat by law. It is designated as a Special Area of Conservation because it not only supports Atlantic salmon but also species such as the river weed ranunculus, white clawed crayfish, sea lamprey, brook lamprey, twaite shad, and allis shad. However, currently 60% of the River Wye and its catchment fail environmental targets for phosphates; a key pollutant that causes algal blooms on the river and adversely affects its ecology.

You can watch the full video here: https://vimeo.com/684604928