Fish not foul!

Jellied eels, once the staple of many original Eastenders, should now perhaps be regarded as exclusive a dish as caviar, because in British waters, at least, the fish providing the ingredients for both culinary delights are Critically Endangered. That's one fin away from global extinction.

Of the nine UK creatures listed as Critically Endangered, two are fish needing to swim between sea and freshwater, so it's no surprise that the construction of dams and barrages creates a major obstacle to them and is a principal factor in these species' declines.

The good news this week is that our European eels are to be given more help bypassing these barriers. But the bad news is that the Severn, arguably the UK's most important river for migratory fish, is still besieged by various barrage proposals. The Severn has an extremely rich diversity of  fish, with over 100 species identified in its ebb and flow. The Severn was arguably the UK's greatest river for that mighty royal fish: the sturgeon. It is also important for other threatened migratory fish, including two species of shad and two species of lamprey. If this diversity isn't enough it is also a major eel river, with once-important fisheries occupying the main river and its tributaries. A barrage would have extreme consequences for these species and of course the birds that occur there in internationally-important numbers too.

Therefore we think it's vital that full consideration should be given to the river's internationally-important wildlife, as well as other considerations like increasing flood risk and the impacts on fishing, tourism and shipping.

We know the Government has produced a report looking at the impacts of a barrage across the Severn, we can't wait to see it!