08.05.25

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: a huge threat to nature and our wild fish

WildFish believes that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill – now…

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29.04.25

WildFish supporters raise over £25,000 to expand SmartRivers citizen science initiative

WildFish supporters have successfully raised £25,659 through the Big Give’s…

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28.04.25

Legal Update – April 2024

Here is what our legal team have been working on…

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24.04.25

WildFish threatens legal action if Environment Agency agrees to more pesticides in Bourne Rivulet

WildFish has written to the Environment Agency (EA) permitting team…

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23.04.25

What do we make of the Corry Review?

It has been no secret that successive Westminster governments have…

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22.04.25

Save Our Salmon: A Call to Action for the River Itchen’s Endangered Atlantic Salmon

The River Itchen is home to one of the UK’s…

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16.04.25

Greenwashing the greenwashers?

When the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced an investigation…

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03.04.25

Yorkshire anglers win key legal battle and set a precedent for restoring England’s rivers and streams

Anglers and river-watchers are celebrating after Fish Legal (which represented…

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01.04.25

Information Commissioner backs WildFish to end salmon farming secrecy in university research

In 2024, an academic paper was published in the Journal…

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27.03.25

WildFish publishes 2024 Impact Report

Protecting wild fish populations and their waters is no ordinary…

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26.03.25

Legal Update – March 2025

Here is what our legal team have been working on…

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25.03.25

The River Chess – some good news for once!

Chalk streams are in a unique position where their sensitivities…

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18.03.25

Not so appealing… Scottish salmon farmers launch legal appeals to undermine SEPA’s weak attempts to control sea lice

Showing their true colours, Scotland's salmon farming companies have just…

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18.03.25

WildFish calls for the government to put an end to unsustainable housebuilding where the sewage works and water resources cannot cope

WildFish has released a report entitled “No Capacity; No development”…

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11.03.25

Why is WildFish worried about the Government’s proposed housebuilding binge?

Our rivers are drained of water and filled with raw…

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27.02.25

Legal Update – February

Our poorly regulated water industry continues to dominate headlines, and…

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18.02.25

WildFish celebrates landmark move towards improved transparency of Scottish organic salmon farming

WildFish is celebrating another victory this week in its battle…

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13.02.25

WildFish Challenges Vitacress Salads’ Discharge Permit Application

WildFish has formally responded to Vitacress Salads Limited’s application for…

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12.02.25

How is our new report going to help better protect wild salmon populations?

At WildFish, we use scientific research and data to guide…

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10.02.25

New WildFish report finds consumers could be misled as to the reality of the farmed salmon they are purchasing

WildFish has released a new report that shows Scottish farmed…

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04.02.25

Caught in a tangled net?

In 2022, WildFish investigated the impact of shore-based nets in…

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04.02.25

New Environment Agency “Chief Regulator” puts business first – what’s at stake?

Each year we produce a cluster of responses to the…

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30.01.25

WildFish Releases 2025 SmartRivers Progress Report, Showcasing the Power of Citizen Science

Today, WildFish has released its 2025 SmartRivers Progress Report, underscoring…

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28.01.25

An update from our legal team

Here is what our legal team have been working on…

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27.01.25

Charities disappointed at failure to crack down on greenwashing of salmon farming industry

A Tribunal has dismissed the appeal brought by WildFish and…

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23.01.25

WildFish calls on Charity Commission to investigate RSPCA Assured’s charitable status

WildFish has referred RSPCA Assured Limited to the Charity Commission,…

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17.01.25

Scottish Government must take control of salmon farming industry and its damaging impacts

The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has today released findings…

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14.01.25

Local action to restore Yorkshire river faces Government disruption

Our colleagues at Fish Legal are in the Court of…

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08.01.25

We’re Stepping Away from X (Twitter): Here’s Why

As part of our ongoing commitment to fostering meaningful connections…

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17.12.24

Office for Environmental Protection upholds WildFish complaint

In response to a formal complaint by WildFish, the Office…

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26.11.24

An update from the WildFish legal team

Here is what our legal team have been working on…

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21.11.24

The world’s hottest year yet and what it means for wild fish

News of record-breaking temperatures, longer droughts, bigger storms and larger…

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19.11.24

WildFish responds to Southern Water’s unsatisfactory supply plans that fail to protect the environment

WildFish has today submitted its response to Southern Water's revised…

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14.11.24

Information Commissioner decides in favour of WildFish in pesticide pollution case

WildFish is delighted to report that the Information Commissioner's Office…

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14.11.24

Analysis of 351 SmartRivers sites shows concerning sediment pressure and chemical pollution

Today, WildFish publishes the findings of its 2023 volunteer data…

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13.11.24

Open letter call on the Scottish Government to urgently address salmon farming’s negative economic and environmental impacts

More than 50 businesses, community groups, youth groups and charities…

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21.10.24

Integrated Constructed Wetlands are not the solution to nutrient neutrality goals

New research shows that Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICWs) designed to…

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17.10.24

An update from the WildFish legal team

Here is what our legal team have been working on…

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09.10.24

WildFish set out actions that can be taken right now to reverse the decline of rivers

Today, the Water (Special Measures) Bill will have its second…

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07.10.24

2023 assessment of Atlantic salmon numbers in England and Wales lowest on record

Today, the Environment Agency has released the 2023 stock assessment…

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02.10.24

Meet the team: Lex Rigby

As WildFish’s farmed salmon campaign manager, Lex coordinates our ambitious…

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01.10.24

WildFish supporters raise over £115,000 to protect wild fish and their waters

We are thrilled to announce that our 2024 fundraising auction…

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30.09.24

An update from the WildFish legal team

Everything we do is grounded in science and the law.…

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25.09.24

University study shows continual presence of chemicals in protected chalk streams

Today every single river in the UK is flooded with…

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23.09.24

Open net salmon farming: the latest research

As a science-led charity, all the campaigns we run are…

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17.09.24

WildFish report shows sewage pollution in Windermere is causing deterioration of Cunsey Beck

A WildFish Report into the health of Cunsey Beck, which…

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12.09.24

New sea lice modelling study indicates that wild salmon from Scotland’s east and north coast rivers could be impacted by salmon farming

For decades it has been widely assumed that salmon farming…

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12.09.24

River Carron in Wester Ross downgraded to “poor” conservation status

Every year in late summer the Scottish Government launches a…

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09.09.24

Charity auction will fund critical work to protect wild fish

Today, WildFish has opened its 2024 annual fundraising auction. Proceeds…

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06.09.24

Sam and the SmartRivers hubs – spring 2024

From the rain fed rivers of Scotland to the urban…

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04.09.24

Does the water industry really need ‘root-and-branch’ reform?

Some are arguing that we need a fundamental ‘root-and-branch’ reform…

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04.09.24

Sampling in sewage – a volunteer view on the river Chess

The river Chess is a chalk stream in the Chilterns…

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03.09.24

South West and Wessex Water resource management plans fail to deliver proper environmental assessment of River Avon

WildFish has written to the Secretary of State for the…

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28.08.24

WildFish tells UK Governments: act now to protect endangered wild Atlantic salmon

WildFish is calling on the UK government and devolved administrations…

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21.08.24

Salmon farms must count sea lice on more fish to ensure accuracy of average sea lice counts

A NEW peer-reviewed paper, commissioned by WildFish and Inside Scottish…

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20.08.24

The implications of long-distance sea trout migrations on species conservation

Our two native anadromous (fish that migrate up rivers from…

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19.08.24

An update from the WildFish legal team

Everything we do is grounded in science and the law.…

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16.07.24

WildFish reminds Powys County Council of its duty to assess pollution risk before granting planning permission for new chicken sheds on river Wye

WildFish has written to Powys County Council reminding them that…

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11.07.24

WildFish response to Norway river closures

On June 20 the Norwegian Environment Agency announced the closure…

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11.07.24

The price of water is too low to protect our rivers – and has been for years

Today, Ofwat has delivered its draft determination setting out how…

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09.07.24

EA denial over decades-long failure to restore English rivers and lakes

WildFish fears that the Environment Agency (EA) is still in…

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02.07.24

WildFish applauds Wimbledon for its salmon-free menus

As Wimbledon 2024 gets underway, WildFish is pleased to note…

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02.07.24

Meet the team: Justin Neal

Justin joins the WildFish team as a solicitor and specialises…

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27.06.24

The impact of unprecedented global temperatures on wild fish

Oceans are the hottest they have ever been recorded and…

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24.06.24

Enforce the laws that already exist to protect wild fish.

WildFish calls on the next UK Government to save wild…

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18.06.24

Laura Reineke swims 48.5 km (at night!) for wild fish

Hello from Henley-on-Thames where final preparations for my 20 Bridges…

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10.06.24

Time to call an end to the greenwashing of Scottish farmed salmon

WildFish has launched a petition calling on the Competitions &…

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30.05.24

SmartRivers: spring roundup

Thank you volunteers for another brilliant season. The highest level…

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29.05.24

EA faces legal challenge if it fails to curb Southern Water’s chalk stream abstraction

WildFish has written to the Environment Agency warning that it…

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14.05.24

Water companies ordered to publish data on sewage works performance

A recent decision from the Tribunal means that Northumbrian Water…

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07.05.24

Citizen Scientists we need you!

Do you regularly spend time on a UK river? Or…

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02.05.24

Chefs decry industry greenwashing as WildFish launches appeal to stop the removal of “farmed” from “Scottish farmed salmon” protected name

WildFish has issued a formal appeal in the General Regulatory…

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01.05.24

Suffocating in chemicals and sewage: wild fish don’t have a choice.

WildFish is delighted that water-based sports are getting behind the…

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17.04.24

Supporter runs London Marathon for WildFish

WildFish supporter, Robbie Hollis is running the 2024 London Marathon…

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04.04.24

WildFish respond to United Utilities questioning of SmartRivers report

In February you may have seen our SmartRivers report produced…

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03.04.24

England’s water supply shortfall set to be 4.8 billion litres per day by 2050 and the Water Companies main solution – cutting demand – looks like pure fantasy

England’s water supply shortfall is estimated to increase to 4.8…

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28.03.24

Shock horror – sewage in rivers!

So, the latest Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) data has been…

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25.03.24

SmartRivers in action: Welsh Dee Trust

SmartRivers volunteers are our lifeblood. Over 300 trained volunteers sample…

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13.03.24

Southern Water and the Environment Agency’s broken promises to the Test and Itchen

WildFish has uncovered Southern Water and the Environment Agency’s (EA)…

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13.03.24

WildFish make legal complaint to environment watchdog for SEPA’s failure to protect endangered wild salmon from sea lice parasites

WildFish and Coastal Communities Network (Scotland) have submitted a formal…

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07.03.24

Where are we heading on sewage pollution?

We know the problem – water companies are using our…

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05.03.24

Sewage Pollution: the problem and what we’re doing about it

Today, WildFish has published a new report on Sewage Pollution…

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26.02.24

Smart citizen science

A new report published today by WildFish evidences the increasing…

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22.02.24

Why WildFish campaigns to end open-net salmon farming

Our focus on ending salmon farming in Scotland is sometimes…

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20.02.24

SmartRivers reveals worrying loss of riverfly species in Windermere

A new report published today by WildFish and Save Windermere…

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31.01.24

2023: a record-breaking year for global climate change

Tuesday 9 January 2024. The date that scientists confirmed 2023…

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30.01.24

Environment groups call out Soil Association’s ‘organic’ standard

More than 30 Scottish community groups, UK NGOs and international…

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22.01.24

SmartRivers: volunteer-led river data

SmartRivers volunteers are our lifeblood. With nearly 300 volunteers trained…

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17.01.24

Esso and South West Water profit from over-abstraction on the River Avon

From recent investigations, South West Water estimates that it over-abstracts…

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08.01.24

Deregulation rears its ugly head… again

WildFish was delighted to see the December blog from London…

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20.12.23

Barclay letter to water companies – strange echoes of Therese Coffey?

On 20 February 2023, the then Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey,…

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18.12.23

How events unfolded in the Cunsey Beck pollution cover-up

Hundreds of fish, including Atlantic salmon, were killed on the…

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11.12.23

Main UK population of Atlantic salmon move to endangered

In the species reassessment released today by the IUCN Red…

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05.12.23

South West Water continue to fail rivers in the southwest of England

South West Water is required to publish a Water Resources…

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04.12.23

BBC Panorama turns spotlight on water pollution scandals

The Environment Agency must answer serious questions over its woeful…

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01.12.23

WildFish launch Christmas appeal to raise vital funds for Atlantic salmon conservation

Today, WildFish opens its 2023 Christmas Appeal to raise funds…

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27.11.23

2022 SmartRivers data highlights excess sediment and chemical pollution as key stressors for over 50 rivers

Today, WildFish has published the key findings from its SmartRivers…

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21.11.23

Lessons from Iceland

We've been watching recent events unfolding in Iceland with a…

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20.11.23

Winter storms and wildlife – what’s going on beneath the surface?

Winter has well and truly arrived, bringing with it shorter,…

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16.11.23

Smart Science

Species identification of invertebrates, to a near professional standard, taught…

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13.11.23

Sea Trout: what we know and the challenges to conservation

In early September, the Institute of Fisheries Management (IFM) working…

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26.10.23

WildFish and community groups raise alarm on ‘sustainable’ greenwashing claims made by Scottish salmon farming industry

WildFish Scotland and Coastal Communities Network Scotland submit legal complaint…

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24.10.23

WildFish puts OFWAT and the Environment Agency on notice

Formal letters set down what the law requires regulators to…

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18.10.23

We need to be cautious with family-level assessments of freshwater invertebrate biodiversity

A response to the recent Centre for Ecology and Hydrology…

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16.10.23

We must not be billed twice for unlawful sewage pollution

The effects of population growth, new housing developments and climate…

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15.10.23

Welsh regulator to increase monitoring after SmartRivers discovery

Our water policy officer, James, unpicks the troubled past of…

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12.10.23

The impacts of pollution on English rivers

Our freshwater ecologist, Sam, reviews the recently published research paper:…

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10.10.23

Industry influence: can we trust scientific research?

Peer-reviewed scientific literature forms the cornerstone of our understanding of…

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05.10.23

What does “protection for chalk streams” in the Levelling-Up Bill amount to?

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is reaching the closing…

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04.10.23

High mortality on Scottish salmon farms reflects an environmental disaster

New figures published today by the Scottish Government show that…

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02.10.23

Water companies plans cannot try to pass costs of dealing with unlawful sewage discharges to bill-payers

Today Water UK has announced that water companies in England…

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27.09.23

WildFish supporters raise over £101,000 to protect wild fish and their waters

With over 180 lots, the WildFish 2023 Fundraising Auction offered…

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21.09.23

WildFish campaigning affords earlier protection for rivers in Wessex Water supply area

Last autumn, Wessex Water published its draft Water Resources Management…

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20.09.23

Sewage campaign update: enforcing the law and water companies footing the bill

Last Friday (15 September), the High Court dismissed our case…

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19.09.23

An interview with WildFish Community Hero Lucca Froud

WildFish Community Hero, Lucca Froud has blown us away with…

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18.09.23

The River Wye: a golden opportunity for regulators to catch up…

It's no secret that the Wye is one of our…

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15.09.23

WildFish High Court judgement clarifies that Government’s storm sewage plan does not deal with unlawful discharges of untreated sewage into rivers and seas

Environment Agency must urgently review pollution permits to force water…

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13.09.23

Latest Environment Agency figures show wild Atlantic salmon are in crisis

Latest figures from the Environment Agency's assessment of Salmon Stocks…

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13.09.23

Grotesque footage emerges from certified Scottish salmon farm as new report questions whether consumers are being misled by certification bodies and supermarkets

A new report from WildFish finds salmon farms are certified…

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12.09.23

Office for Environmental Protection believe there may have been failures to comply with environmental law in relation to sewage pollution

In response to a complaint from WildFish, the Office for…

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11.09.23

Conservation and community groups blast Scottish Government for its “smoke and mirrors” proposals to protect iconic wild salmon from sea lice parasites

New proposed regulation will not initially apply to ANY of…

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07.09.23

Lucca Froud takes on seven marathons in seven days to support WildFish

Wild fish enthusiast, Lucca Froud is embarking on a 300-kilometer…

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07.09.23

Warming water temperatures and the impact on riverfly populations

Riverfly populations are highly vulnerable to climate change. Warming water…

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06.09.23

The final blow for Atlantic salmon on the Rivers Test and Itchen

Southern Water yet again extends time frames to over-abstract water…

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30.08.23

A win for rivers: Britain’s first water neutral zone set to go live in the next six months

After yesterday’s amendments to nutrient neutrality rules, WildFish looks at…

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23.08.23

Southern Water’s dangerous reliance on the Test and Itchen extended till 2035

Southern Water has fallen behind in drafting its final plan…

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16.08.23

The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt

The international journal nature has published a paper about how…

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10.08.23

Declines in chalk stream water quality: the River Itchen

Madeleine Maidment and Professor Gary Fones from the University of…

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02.08.23

Peers ride to the rescue of chalk streams?

In my new role at WildFish, one of the first…

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31.07.23

Meet the Team: Guy Linley-Adams

Guy is our in-house solicitor and has over 30 years…

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27.07.23

Scottish Government launches vision for ‘sustainable’ aquaculture at trout farm run by company beset with sea lice infestations

Last Friday (21 July) the Scottish Government announced its long-overdue…

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19.07.23

Warming temperatures and the effect on freshwater wildlife

Earlier this month, news outlets across the world scrambled to…

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18.07.23

WildFish campaign launches new directory of chefs and restaurants keeping open-net farmed salmon Off the table

At the end of last year, we announced our new…

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10.07.23

Meet the Team: Sam Green

Sam joins the WildFish team as our resident freshwater ecologist.…

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07.07.23

Government says sewage plan does not deal with illegal discharges of sewage to English and Welsh rivers

In the judicial review challenge brought by WildFish this week,…

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03.07.23

Legal challenge from WildFish to be heard in the High Court

“We have one simple ask of the Government: enforce the…

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29.06.23

Meet the Team: Daniel Nixon

Last week we welcomed Daniel to our growing team as…

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28.06.23

Rising sea temperatures around the UK and the potential threat to wild fish

Millions across the UK have been enjoying a sweltering start…

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20.06.23

Sewage Pollution: campaign update 

On 4 July, we’re taking the Government to the High…

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14.06.23

Running dry

One of the world’s most remarkable ecosystems, the River Ems…

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12.06.23

Environmental campaigners demand the Government comes clean about where our water is coming from

A group of 37 national and local environmental groups are…

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08.06.23

Across the ‘salmonscape’…

Protection of aquatic ecosystems is urgently required for our rivers,…

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07.06.23

SEPA’s over-complicated sea lice management plan will not save our wild salmonids

On Wednesday 31 May SEPA published their proposal for a…

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16.05.23

SEPA fails in its statutory duty to protect River Dee from blatant pollution

Serious pollution of the River Dee, associated with a major…

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04.05.23

DEFRA consultation on spatial management measures for industrial sandeel fishing

Fisheries Policy Advisor, John Hickey, looks at the latest DEFRA…

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21.04.23

South West Water over-abstracts more than 100 million litres from the River Avon every day

The water company, which supplies water to homes across Devon,…

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20.04.23

WildFish takes part in Green Match Fund to protect wild Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon are in danger. The number of wild Atlantic…

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31.03.23

Sewage spilt for 1.75 million hours in 2022

The Environment Agency has today (31 March) published Event Duration…

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28.03.23

Report finds Scottish salmon farms systematically failing to meet own guidelines, with up to two billion sea lice emanating from a single farm in a single week

A new report from WildFish has found that the Scottish…

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23.03.23

SmartRivers: citizen science in action

WildFish has published its 2023 progress report for SmartRivers, a…

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23.03.23

Report by inter-governmental wild salmon conservation organisation NASCO slams Scottish Government’s failure to act on salmon farming impacts

A new report by the inter-governmental wild salmon conservation organisation,…

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22.03.23

WildFish response to the House of Lords Report on Water and Sewage

Today, the House of Lords has published The affluent and…

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06.03.23

What environmental ambition? Water companies’ interpretation of abstraction guidance will come at a cost for wild fish

Water Policy Officer James Overington considers Environmental Destination, yet another…

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01.03.23

WildFish response to Scottish Government’s Wild Salmon Strategy implementation plan

Our director in Scotland, Rachel Mulrenan reviews the Scottish Government's…

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22.02.23

Water supply will struggle to meet demand in drought

Our new report about drought paints a deeply concerning picture…

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21.02.23

Turning the Tide: British Public Stands up for Water

As sewage hits the headlines once again, WildFish joins community…

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20.02.23

WildFish Respond to Southern Water’s Plans for Water Supply

Today, WildFish submitted its response to Southern Water's draft Water…

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14.02.23

WildFish granted permission to challenge the Government’s Sewage Overflows Plan

Today, WildFish has been given permission to apply for judicial…

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06.02.23

Water companies failure to prepare England for drought will result in ecological disaster

A new report, released today, from WildFish reveals that, across…

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31.01.23

Award winning chefs join our Off the Table campaign

In October last year we launched Off the Table, which…

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26.01.23

Top UK chefs join campaign to take farmed salmon off the table

THREE award-winning and game-changing UK chefs have today announced support…

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08.12.22

Top Edinburgh chef joins campaign to take farmed salmon off the table

Award-winning Edinburgh chef Lloyd Morse has today called on fellow…

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01.12.22

Water company fines to improve water quality welcome if they are invested in the right places

The Government has announced that money from the fines handed…

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29.11.22

WildFish launch 2022 Christmas Appeal

For salmon, it's the least wonderful time of the year.…

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28.11.22

Scottish salmon farming continues to expand despite failing to address key environmental and mortality issues

Record production of Scottish farmed salmon escalates risk for wild…

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25.11.22

2022 Chalk Stream Restoration Implementation Plan

Today, the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) group, including WildFish, released…

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25.11.22

WildFish has started a court action seeking to force the withdrawal and redrafting of the Government’s Sewage Overflows Plan

In 2021, raw sewage was dumped in UK rivers by…

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