Already 1,000 kilos of dead fish and the carcasses continue to float to the surface: “This was once excellent fishing water, but the problem started about 15 years ago” (Ypres)

A day after the clearance of 1,000 kilograms of dead fish in the Ypres-IJzer canal, new carcasses came to the water surface and the fire brigade had to return to the water. “The mortality will reach two tons,” estimates angler Steve Salomez. “Another deliberate discharge, which causes bad blood.”

Westhoek fire brigade deployed two boats on Tuesday to remove dead fish over a distance of approximately one and a half kilometers in the Ypres-IJzer canal, between the two locks near the Ypres sub-municipality of Boezinge. The fire brigade worked for hours and estimated the amount of dead fish on Tuesday evening at approximately 1,000 kilograms. On Wednesday, more dead fish surfaced, after which the fire brigade again deployed a boat to remove the carcasses. (Read more below the photo)

“Just after noon, another large quantity was reported near the lock on Sasstraat,” says fire captain Dirk Vandekerckhove. “We mainly remove larger fish from thirty centimeters to prevent odor nuisance and further deterioration of water quality. On Wednesday afternoon we removed about 150 large carcasses from the canal. We may have to clean up more fish there in the coming days. That depends partly on the weather.” (Read more below the photo)

“The fish stock on this canal consists of about 20 fish species,” says Kristof Louagie, spokesperson for the Westhoek Fire Department. “Bream and roach are the dominant species. The weight of the fish varies from roach of 450 grams to bream of 3.3 kilograms to pike-perch of 11 kilograms. We filled 5 500 liter barrels with fish and 1 1,000 liter barrel was one quarter full.” (Read more below the photo)

The fish mortality is linked to foam formation, which was noticed on May 1 from the Zwaanhofbeek. “In the meantime, the oxygen values ​​are slowly rising and the aerators used continue to run,” said Ypres environmental officer Erik Marrecau. “The Flemish Environment Agency came to take another sample that will be further examined.” (Read more below the photo)

“This was once excellent fishing water, but the problem started about 15 years ago after the expansion of the Ypres industrial zone,” complains angler Steve Salomez from Ypres. “I think it is again a deliberate discharge and that creates bad blood. The last major fish kill only occurred two years ago. That channel can no longer recover. My estimate is that the current fish mortality is up to two tons. In addition to the cleared carcasses of the fire brigade, other dead fish sink to the bottom or are eaten by birds.” (Read more below the photo)

According to local beautifier Kurt Lowie, who noticed and reported the foam formation, pollution regularly occurs via the Zwaanhofbeek. “The worst fish mortality that I can remember here dates back to 2015. I find it strange that modern technology and analyzes cannot determine what was discharged.”