Massive fish death first in Roeselare, now in Ypres

The fire service in Ypres was called out on Monday to deal with more than 1,000 dead fish floating in the Ieperlee canal to the north of the city. The fish were found over a distance of five kilometres along the course of the canal near Boezinge. Fire service personnel from Houthulst and Lo-Reninge also took part in the operation (pictured).

The cause is thought to be pollution caused by heavy rains last week, which washed fertiliser from the land along the canal into the water, said Kristof Louagie of the Ypres fire service. The fish died as a result of a lack of oxygen. Raw sewage from sewers unable to cope with the sudden increased water flow is also thought to have contributed.

“The distance is too great for us to be able to pump oxygen into the water, so we have to settle for removing the dead fish from the water,” Louagie said. Flemish environment agency VMM said the numbers of fish in the canal would recover quickly. Samples of the water have been taken, as well as some of the 500 kilograms of dead fish to determine the exact cause.

The incident in Ypres was a repeat of Saturday in Roeselare, also in West Flanders, when several thousand dead fish had to be removed from the Roeselare-Leie canal by fire and civil defence services. Severe weather was also the cause there.