Today, Natural Resources Wales published its Habitat Regulations Report. The report highlights the concerningly poor state of our river and water habitats and species. Of the nine fish species surveyed, including Atlantic salmon, whitefish, and bullhead, all were reported as being in an unfavourable condition and ranked as poor.
This trend continued in our seas, with freshwater pearl mussels and crayfish being classed as unfavourable, and water floating plantain as unfavourable and inadequate.
Janet Finch-Saunders, the Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, commented:
“I have continuously called for more action to be taken to address the challenges facing our marine environment. This report highlights the need for a stronger focus on protecting our marine species and habitats.
“While the report does highlight that the agricultural sector contributes to pollution in our rivers, it is vital that we note that the vast majority of our farmers dispose of waste in a sensible and responsible way. However, we must hold factory farmers to account for any run-off into our Welsh rivers.
“An increasingly concerning form of pollution in our Welsh waters is plastic pollution. I was shocked to learn in a meeting last year that there is currently no firm method of measuring plastic pollution in our rivers. This is deeply concerning, with plastics being found in water species in a survey conducted over the River Taff.
“We must measure and address this pollution, as well as hold our water companies to account for any leaks, such as the plastic discs used in wastewater treatment that appeared on beaches in Swansea and Gower, through fines, ensuring that this money is delivered back to Wales. Along with redirecting money from the Welsh Government’s waste projects, such as the heat pumps that only work on new builds to tackling this issue.”
ENDS
Photo: Janet Finch-Saunders MS/AS
