After the fires - the disaster unfolding underwater: "We are in a state of emergency"
Heatwaves and extreme drought are drying up France's rivers, leaving fish without oxygen. Volunteers are rescuing hundreds of trout and salmon, moving them to deeper waters. 99 out of 101 departments are under water restrictions: "Without us, their fate is sealed."
Heatwaves and extreme drought in France are causing rivers to dry up and fish to die. Volunteer teams are working in the field, attempting to save young trout and salmon. The fish are trapped in shallow sections of the rivers; they are transferred to oxygenated water tanks and released back downstream in areas where water levels are higher.
In the Odet River in the Brittany region, fisherman Mathieu Le Boutte and about ten volunteers caught hundreds of fish and transported them up to 19 kilometers downstream. The water in the area, located just a few kilometers from the river's source, now barely reaches knee-deep.
"The situation is catastrophic, much worse than we thought," said Le Boutte, a member of the Finistère Department Fishing Federation. According to him, the combination of high temperatures and low water levels reduces the amount of oxygen in the water and puts the fish in immediate mortal danger.
"The forecast for the next ten days indicates that no rain is expected, and temperatures will remain high," he added. "Young trout and salmon need flowing, oxygenated water, so these conditions are becoming lethal for them."
Rivers at historic lows
The river crisis is occurring in parallel with wildfires raging across France, after the country experienced three heatwaves in three months. The Loire River, the longest in the country, has reached a historic low, and the flow in some of its tributaries—including the one passing through the city of Orléans—has been reduced to a trickle between sandbanks.
According to data published about two weeks ago, 16% of rivers in France have dried up, and a quarter of small streams have turned into stagnant pools or disappeared completely. Since then, there has been almost no rain. Despite a rainy winter, during which flooding was even recorded, the intense heat and lack of precipitation since April have created an extreme drought that is drying up rivers across the country.
State of emergency in 58 departments
In 99 of France's 101 departments, restrictions on water use have been imposed, and a state of emergency has been declared in 58 of them. According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, nearly a third of river monitoring stations recorded the lowest water levels in 20 years, and a quarter of small waterways have dried up.
The ministry also warned of an increase in fish mortality due to water warming and described the situation as "very worrying."
Meanwhile, an emergency law for agriculture approved by the French parliament on Tuesday is drawing criticism. The law facilitates the construction of water reservoirs for crop irrigation and livestock farms, but environmental and fishing organizations fear it prioritizes farmers at the expense of equitable distribution of water resources.
President of the National Fishing Federation, Claude Roustan, argued that rivers are suffering not only from drought and the climate crisis but also from "over-extraction" of water for crop irrigation. According to him, the new law contradicts efforts to conserve water sources.
"We are the only ones coming to save them"
According to Le Boutte, water levels in the Odet and the nearby Isole rivers—where Atlantic salmon lay their eggs and the young develop before migrating to the ocean—drop every summer, but never this early in the year.
He described a "vicious cycle": the drop in water levels raises water temperatures and causes aquatic vegetation to die. In its place, filamentous algae develop, which further reduce oxygen concentration and exacerbate the fish's distress.
"As the days go by, the environment becomes more suffocating for them. Without the actions we are taking, their fate is sealed," he said. "We are in a state of emergency."
Volunteers intend to continue rescue operations as long as necessary. "It seems we are the only ones worried about the fish," said Le Boutte. "Unlike birds, deer, and foxes, which are easy to see, fish tend to be forgotten. It is vacation season, and we would prefer to do something else, but right now we are the only ones carrying out rescue operations and raising the alarm."
