Acoustic fish deterrence at the intake of Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor

My good friend Mark Everard included this in his latest Newsletter. This will undoubtedly have a significant impact upon the fish within the Bristol Channel and I would urge all who care to sign the petition linked beneath.

‘Acoustic fish deterrence at the intake of Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor

I have noted previously that EDF is frankly telling lies about the alleged ‘minor impact’ that an uncontrolled abstraction of cooling water from the Severn Estuary would have on fish.  Modelling suggests 182 million fish killed a year for 60 years… hardly minor!  Add to this the many are protected species – shads, lampreys, salmon, sea trout and others including much of the allis and twaite shad population of the UK that congregates in Bridgwater Bay – not to mention impacts on non-designated species.  EDF suggests that creating a small bit of saltmarsh – highly unpopular with local communities and farmers – will offset damage if they are allowed to backtrack on fitting acoustic fish deterrent systems (about which they also promote untruths relating to noise and maintenance) but this is utter rubbish as it will not address biomass or species diversity to any significant degree.

As you know, I have done national and local radio around this.  There is also now a petition that you can find here – https://win.newmode.net/hinkley-point-nuclear-power-station-fish-protection – so please have a look at this and, if you are so motivated, please sign it.’

Dark clouds hang over the Bristol Channels future as millions of fish face death at Hinkley Point

Hinkley Threat to Fish Stocks in the Bristol Channel

posted in: Article, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

The building of Hinkley Point Power Station will undoubtedly have an adverse effect upon the Environment but as with all things there is a bigger picture and I am not qualified to know whether nuclear power is better overall than alternative sources of energy production. The financial cost is undoubtedly enormous. I read in The Times on Saturday how it is predicted that the cooling water intake could kill many thousands of fish each day potentially decimating fish stocks. This is obviously extremely worrying not only from an angling perspective but also from a conservation angle.

In addition to the many species of sea fish within the area there are also migratory fish that pass this point including threatened species including, salmon, shad, lamprey and eels. I am sure that measures can be put in place to minimise the impact on fish but it would seem that cost cutting could sacrifice these measures. The Short term savings could lead to the long term extinction of some species with irreparable damage to the marine eco-system.

Below are links to the EA consultation documents. I urge those who care to take a look and respond.

https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/ta5-1ud-nnb-generation-company-hpc-limited-2/supporting_documents/Application%20Variation%20Additional%20Document%20Item%205%20%20TR493%20The%20Effect%20Of%20Not%20Fitting%20An%20AFD%20System%20At%20HPC.pdf?dm_i=3O4M,NBZP,D3ITS,2HHQM,1

https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/ta5-1ud-nnb-generation-company-hpc-limited-2/?dm_i=3O4M,NBZP,D3ITS,2HHQM,1