Premium
The fish populations of an industrial river in South Wales
Author(s) -
Williams R.,
Harcup M. F.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1974.tb04557.x
Subject(s) - salmo , stocking , trout , brown trout , fishery , biology , suspended solids , fish <actinopterygii> , rainbow trout , total suspended solids , population , ecology , environmental science , environmental engineering , chemical oxygen demand , wastewater , demography , sociology
The River Sirhowy, a trout river of the Ebbw System in south‐east Wales still subject to sporadically high levels of suspended solids derived from the coal mining industry, was investigated over a three year period to assess its importance in the recolonization of a fishless river, the Ebbw Fawr, which is expected to recover from the effects of steelworks effluents discharged near its headwaters. Eight species of fish were recorded. Spawning areas for brown trout ( Salmo trutta L.) were limited by industrial and urban developments and the discharge of suspended solids. Small numbers of native trout were produced in the system and the growth of these fish was poor in the main river, confirming the need for regular stocking. Movements of stocked trout were limited except in the lower reaches of the river where the presence of a native population, high levels of suspended solids and flash floods may have increased the numbers of fish moving into the recovering Ebbw Fawr.