MEMBERS of a fishery working to keep a centuries-old practice alive swapped salmon for litter recently to tackle fly-tipping in local waterways.

Fishermen from Black Rock Lave Net Heritage Fishery took the initiative to clean out some of their local reens after being targeted by fly-tippers.

The blight of fly-tipping is, according to fishery secretary Martin Morgan, a common problem on the Gwent Levels - increasingly so during lockdown.

During their clean-up, the group recovered items from paint pots to oil buckets, a television set, CDs and even an old typewriter.

Their efforts were hampered by heavy rain which had fallen the previous night, causing the oil and paint to leach out into the reen.

South Wales Argus: Black Rock Lave Net Fishermen clean out reen on the Gwent Levels

Mr Morgan said that, despite contacting Natural Resources Wales (NRW), he was not met with a response straight away.

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"It was much worse than we though," he said.

South Wales Argus: Black Rock Lave Net Fishermen clean out reen on the Gwent Levels

"It is in a water course and any pollutants will affect whatever lives in the reens.

"The reason given was that they are only responsible for some reens, not all.

"They proclaim to be guardians of the environment."

South Wales Argus: Black Rock Lave Net Fishermen clean out reen on the Gwent Levels

He said that, even if not wholly responsible for the particular reens, "the least they (NRW) could have done is take the stuff out of the watercourse".

"There were open paint containers, two oil jacks (one open), a tub of what looked like used oil, cloths, typewriter, TV, CDs, black bags of god knows what."

Natural Resources Wales said that the reens around Black Rock do not form part of the SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).

A spokesperson said: “Fly-tipping into our rivers and streams is not only unsightly, but can damage the environment, wildlife and even create blockages which can cause flooding to people’s homes.

South Wales Argus: Black Rock Lave Net Fishermen clean out reen on the Gwent Levels

“We do not have a record of this incident being reported to us, but would urge anyone who is concerned about pollution in their local area to contact us via our incident hotline on 03000 65 3000.

“If we believe there’s a risk of flooding, or a serious environmental impact we’ll investigate and remove the offending items. We also work with partners such as Keep Wales Tidy to help organise river clean ups in known hotspots – although this has of course been more difficult during the current pandemic.”