In light of reports from residents in recent summers concerning dead fish found at the Common Pond, the Town Council’s contractors have removed a large quantity of fish from the pond to mitigate issues concerning water quality and allow the ecosystem to recover.
An investigation carried out by the Town Council in partnership with the Environment Agency earlier this year found that the deaths of some fish on site had resulted from a low level of dissolved oxygen in the water, due to a combination of high temperatures and low atmospheric pressure brought about by thunderstorms.
The resulting toxic blue-green algal bloom formed in the pond due to a lack of oxygen, although a natural occurrence, could contribute to the loss of further fish in the future. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that decaying food in the water left by members of the public feeding waterfowl, combined with the overfeeding of inhabitant geese by visitors (resulting in excess faecal waste in the pond), increases the problem further.
Following the granting of a Section 30 Licence by the Environment Agency and subsequent health check being carried out, the decision has been taken to remove a substantial quantity of fish stock from the pond for their own welfare and to rehome them – this in turn helping to improve the ecology and biodiversity of the area.
The fish have been moved to a nearby fishery and transported in aerated tanks by a specialist contractor, where they will be allowed to live out the rest of their natural lives.
“We’re aware that the Common Pond, often described as Hailsham’s ‘Jewel in the Crown’, is a valued open space for the community and popular with visitors,” said the Town Council’s Pond Warden, Phil Hobden. “But the reality is, unless we remove most of the fish from the pond, we will keep repeating the cycle of increased algae levels, rapid drop in oxygen levels in the water and more dead fish and waterfowl. For this reason, we cannot allow such a large fish population to exist in the pond and have had to remove most of them from the pond.”
“Though by no means as extreme as the summer in 2023, the warm weather in June and lack of any significant rainfall meant that we had to act sooner rather than later to prevent any further reduction in the quality of water levels caused by climate change. By keeping fish numbers low, this will ensure that the water quality remains satisfactory, and the overall health of the pond is maintained.”
The decision to remove most of the fish from the pond follows a recent campaign by the Town Council regarding the management of waterfowl on site.
The rising number of resident geese at the pond site (in particular, Canadian Geese), has become a problem in recent years with residents stating that as a direct result, there is too much goose faeces on the surrounding footpath. The Town Council had been advised of the risk to public health resulting from the extensive amount of bird droppings from the unsustainable numbers of geese contaminating the water and other areas of the Common Pond site.
Across the country, unnatural numbers of waterfowl droppings caused by the decomposition of bread/artificial food and overcrowding of waterfowl can result in water-quality problems such as summer algal blooms and Avian Botulism. Add to that, where geese, ducks and other waterfowl congregate to feed, E-coli counts can rise considerably to levels that make the water unsafe.
In response to this, the Town Council’s aim is to now strike a balance between people who enjoy spending time at the Common Pond and the wildlife present at the site. For this reason, several measures were introduced earlier this year which should help achieve this goal, including an awareness-raising campaign to dissuade members of the public from feeding the geese and ducks. This has included the erection of signs at the pond site advising people of this.
“As well as removing fish from the pond, another thing we are doing to help tackle the problems on site is asking people to not feed the birds and to keep our wildlife ‘wild’,” added Mr Hobden. “We’re asking residents to help make the Common Pond site cleaner and safer by being responsible when it comes to feeding waterfowl at the site.”
“We appreciate that feeding birds is a normal thing to do and people mean absolutely no harm by it. However, we kindly ask residents to not be tempted and to seriously think about the problems that it can cause to local wildlife and environmental quality.”
For further information or to report any dead fish at the Common Pond or any other Town Council-maintained waterway (including Hailsham Country Park lake and Hempstead Pond), please contact the Town Council on 01323 841702 or by email: enquiries@hailsham-tc.gov.uk.
Terry Hall, Communications Officer
Hailsham Town Council, Market Street, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 2AE
Telephone: 01323 841702 | Email: terry.hall@hailsham-tc.gov.uk