Polluted canal barren for two years
Reporter: by GEOFF WOOD
Date published: 04 August 2008
AN affected stretch of the Rochdale Canal near the Boat and Horses, Chadderton. Left: a dead fish
ONE of the Oldham area’s most popular venues for angling will be out of action for two years following a disastrous chemical spillage which killed 15,000 fish.
Medlock Bridge Angling Club, which has the fishing rights on the Rochdale Canal between Stakehill and Failsworth, which includes affected areas of the waterway, will have to transfer to one of the its four other waterways.
And this, said club chairman Charlie Webb, is a shame for the 300 members entitled to practise their hobby on the canal.
He said: “The canal was noted for reasonable pike fishing and coarse fishing. But all this has been wiped out by the chemical spillage.
“Whether it was deliberate or accidental we do not yet know.
“Up to 15,000 fish have perished. Members will be upset that sport is now out of the question on the canal.
“The spillage now being investigated by the Environment Agency and British Waterways has also killed the plant life and it could be to two years before the canal fully recovers.”
The Environment Agency has been taking water samples from a 11/2-mile stretch from the Broadgate Business Park near the Boat and Horses, Chadderton, to Failsworth.
It is not yet known what type of chemicals caused the damage.
An agency spokesman confirmed that the dead fish included roach, perch, tench, bream and pike.
Improvements in water quality and plant life have meant that inland waterways are now often prime fishing spots.
In Saddleworth, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal attracts many anglers and their catches often include carp up to 10lb and bream weighing 12lb and more.
