UK fish threatened by global warming to be moved north

By Matt Chorley, Political Correspondent
Sunday, 23 January 2011 Fish from the Lake District will be moved to cooler waters in Scotland under radical plans – which will be unveiled this week – aimed at coping with climate change. The first seven of more than 100 reports by government agencies and utility companies will set out how Britain needs to change to cope with hotter summers and wetter winters. They will highlight the risks – and potential costs – of more landslides, buckled railway lines, crumbling water pipes and rising sea levels threatening lighthouses around the coast. Officials say the studies are needed because levels of carbon emissions mean climate change over the next four decades is unavoidable. The dangers to wildlife have triggered the most extreme solutions: the Environment Agency is poised to catch and transfer thousands of vendace and schelly, both freshwater white fish, from the lakes of Cumbria to Scottish lochs. Scientists warn higher temperatures and lower rainfall in summer will lead to lower river flows and rising water temperatures. As a result, oxygen levels will fall. “It may be necessary to rescue fish or oxygenate the water to help them survive,” the Environment Agency’s report will warn. “We may also need to reintroduce species to re-colonise stretches where fish have died.” Where climate change could lead to the permanent loss of a habitat, some species will need to be relocated. Coldwater and migratory fish, including salmon and trout, are particularly vulnerable because changes in water temperature lead to higher mortality rates and changes to the timing of their migrations. A decline in eel populations over the last 30 years could also be attributed in part to climate change. The Environment Agency is planning to plant more trees on river banks to increase shade and reduce water temperatures and to adapt flood defence, hydro-power and water pumping schemes to allow fish to pass through. Malcolm Fergusson, the agency’s head of climate change, said: “Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. We are beginning to feel the effects in the UK. It’s important we understand how this changing climate will affect our lives and the environment. “The Environment Agency is at the forefront of the fight against climate change, through our work as greenhouse gas emissions regulator and our lead roles on managing flood risk and water resources. But we are also on the front line, helping communities and organisations to be ready to face the consequences of more extreme weather.” … “Climate change will bring more extreme weather: increased bursts of heavy rainfall and hotter, drier summers, potentially affecting the infrastructure which our economy relies on,” said a Defra spokesman. “So it makes sense for those organisations which maintain infrastructure to build adaptation plans into the course of normal business.” …

Fish threatened by global warming to be moved north