THE Environment Agency was called last Friday afternoon (January 26) after dead fish were spotted in the Tavistock canal.

An office worker called the agency after spotting five dead fish in the water on the canal bed behind The Wharf arts centre.

Mike Ingman, from the Environment Agency, used a net to pull the fish from the canal. After doing checks upstream and downstream, though, he ruled out a pollution incident.

‘Rainbow trout are not naturally found in the Tavy,’ he said. ‘They are not native to this country. I’ve checked upstream and downstream and I’m happy that the water is clear.’

He said the fish had most probably been dumped dead after being caught elsewhere at a recreational fishing lake.

‘If there was pollution, what you wouldn’t get is five large fish in one location,’ he said. ‘They would all be different sizes, and you would find them over a large stretch of water. We’re very sure they have just been dumped.’

Anyone with information can contact the Environment Agency on 0203 025 2373, quoting incident number 0800 807 060.