After the successful reintroduction of 8,000 Chub fish to the river this week, we have received an updated community briefing from the Environment Agency on the River Great Ouse.
The updated briefings tell us more about the future plans for the recovery of the river.
Current situation and next steps: recovery and restoration
“We are working with partners; Upper Ouse Catchment Partnership, local angling clubs, Buckingham Town Council, and other landowners to help restore the river and hopefully improve on what was there before the incident, the Upper Ouse Recovery Plan will look at:
• Restocking roach, dace and chub
• Removing barriers to help fish migrate naturally which could speed up the recovery
• Increasing flow speeds to improve fish spawning and invertebrate communities
• Improving marginal features to create habitat for fish and other w
ildlife.”
The full community briefing from the Environment Agency is available here: 8th February Community Briefing
The Environment Agency have also updated the Upper Ouse Recovery Plan
“The pollution incident affected more than 25km of the River Great Ouse between Brackley and Thornton. Thousands of fish were lost and the invertebrate community was heavily impacted too. Fish stocks have since been assessed and we now have a better idea of the impact of the incident, (unfortunately we are unable to share this information). We know that invertebrates are also beginning to recover and fish have been seen in the affected length.”
The full report from the Environment Agency is available here: Upper Ouse Recovery Plan