It is a centuries-old tradition in Wales, but coracle fishers on a major river have said pollution has meant there are "no fish" left. Testing by campaign group Save the River Tywi showed evidence of industrial, agricultural and human waste pollution, with fishers saying they often see dead fish bobbing up and down in the water. One fifth-generation coracle fisherman described the situation in Carmarthenshire as "dire" after only catching one fish in the three-month season between May and July.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said it took all reports of pollution seriously and had "a number of ongoing enforcement and compliance investigations within the Tywi catchment". The tradition of coracle fishing has been part of life on the Tywi for centuries. Typically done at night, fishermen use small rounded boats with nets cast between them to catch salmon and sewin [sea trout].
It was once an important livelihood in west Wales, but today it is mostly a heritage tradition, rather than a full-time source of income. US President Jimmy Carter even loved fishing in these rivers, but according to fishermen, recent pollution has made it impossible. Chairman of Carmarthen Coracle and Netsman Association, Andrew Davies, said he thought the four coracle men on the Tywi caught 12 fish between them in the whole of the 2026 season when, a few years ago, "you'd catch that many in a night".
Keith Elias's family have been fishing on the river for 300 years - he said he only caught one fish this season. "It's been in my family for so long, I love carrying the tradition on but it's getting to the point where you get to the end of the season and you're not hitting fish. Last year, the nearby River Teifi was noted as one of the UK's most polluted rivers, with 2,232 spills lasting more than 22,000 hours recorded in 2024.
It has been reported that some incidents of pollution were made by Welsh Water. The company said it was investing £889m on storm overflows between 2025 and 2030, including six projects to reduce their impact on the Tywi. It added: "We are determined to play our part to improve river water quality on the Tywi, but this isn't just an issue for water companies, collaboration is needed across sectors, including industry and agriculture, to ensure improvements." Local people have also shared videos online of discharge across the river, which they claim appear to be from a nearby electronics recycling company Mekatek.
The company has a discharge licence from NRW. Mekatek said it shared concerns about the drop in sewin and had spent more than "40 years developing and improving our processes to ensure we are not a factor in that reduction". It added: "Anyone wishing to understand what we do and how well we do it is more than welcome to arrange to visit the site and view our operations for themselves." Davies, 63, said this year's season was "a write-off" He added: "I've been fishing for 38 years, I've never seen a season as bad as this.
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