'I've caught one fish all season' - how a polluted river could end 300 years of coracle fishing
Keith Elias's family have been fishing on the river for 300 years - he said he had only caught one fish this season.
"It's been in my family for so long, I love carrying the tradition on, but it's getting to the point where you get to the end of the season and you're not hitting fish.
"You just don't want to go."
Last year, the nearby River Teifi had been noted as one of the UK's most polluted rivers, with 2,232 spills lasting more than 22,000 hours recorded in 2024.
It has been reported that some incidents of pollution were made by Welsh Water.
The company said it would invest £889m on storm overflows between 2025 and 2030, including six projects to reduce their impact on the Tywi.
It added: "We are determined to play our part to improve river water quality on the Tywi, but this isn't just an issue for water companies, collaboration is needed across sectors, including industry and agriculture, to ensure improvements."
Local people have also shared videos online of discharge across the river, which they claim appear to be from a nearby electronics recycling company Mekatek.
The company has a discharge licence from NRW.
Mekatek said it shared concerns about the drop in sewin and had spent more than "40 years developing and improving our processes to ensure we are not a factor in that reduction".
It added: "Anyone wishing to understand what we do and how well we do it is more than welcome to arrange to visit the site and view our operations for themselves."
Carmarthenshire MP Ann Davies wants "firmer action taken" against those who "constantly pollute the river".
She also said - as someone who farms herself - farmers have a responsibility to not pollute the river, along with people and businesses.
"We have a collective responsibility on what we buy, what we flush down the toilet."
Huwel Manley, head of south-west operations for NRW, said "Like many rivers, the Tywi faces a range of environmental pressures, including pollution and is also impacted by the current dry weather conditions which are seeing an increase in the water temperature along with wider ecological challenges.
"We take all reports of suspected pollution seriously. We currently have a number of ongoing enforcement and compliance investigations within the Tywi catchment, including cases that are progressing towards court proceedings."
The Welsh government said: "The Tywi is one of Wales' most important rivers, supporting internationally important habitats and species, local communities, recreation and cultural traditions such as coracle fishing."
It had been "aware of recent concerns regarding foam, odours and discolouration in the River Tywi" and "NRW have investigated and confirmed the impacts were linked to natural environmental conditions".
It said NRW had been investigating a separate potential source of pollution entering the Tywi and as those investigations remain ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
The tradition on a Carmarthenshire river once fished by US President Jimmy Carter could be coming to an end
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
Keith Elias's family have been fishing on the river for 300 years - he said he had only caught one fish this season.
"It's been in my family for so long, I love carrying the tradition on, but it's getting to the point where you get to the end of the season and you're not hitting fish.
"You just don't want to go."
Last year, the nearby River Teifi had been noted as one of the UK's most polluted rivers, with 2,232 spills lasting more than 22,000 hours recorded in 2024.
It has been reported that some incidents of pollution were made by Welsh Water.
The company said it would invest £889m on storm overflows between 2025 and 2030, including six projects to reduce their impact on the Tywi.
It added: "We are determined to play our part to improve river water quality on the Tywi, but this isn't just an issue for water companies, collaboration is needed across sectors, including industry and agriculture, to ensure improvements."
Local people have also shared videos online of discharge across the river, which they claim appear to be from a nearby electronics recycling company Mekatek.
The company has a discharge licence from NRW.
Mekatek said it shared concerns about the drop in sewin and had spent more than "40 years developing and improving our processes to ensure we are not a factor in that reduction".
It added: "Anyone wishing to understand what we do and how well we do it is more than welcome to arrange to visit the site and view our operations for themselves."
Carmarthenshire MP Ann Davies wants "firmer action taken" against those who "constantly pollute the river".
She also said - as someone who farms herself - farmers have a responsibility to not pollute the river, along with people and businesses.
"We have a collective responsibility on what we buy, what we flush down the toilet."
Huwel Manley, head of south-west operations for NRW, said "Like many rivers, the Tywi faces a range of environmental pressures, including pollution and is also impacted by the current dry weather conditions which are seeing an increase in the water temperature along with wider ecological challenges.
"We take all reports of suspected pollution seriously. We currently have a number of ongoing enforcement and compliance investigations within the Tywi catchment, including cases that are progressing towards court proceedings."
The Welsh government said: "The Tywi is one of Wales' most important rivers, supporting internationally important habitats and species, local communities, recreation and cultural traditions such as coracle fishing."
It had been "aware of recent concerns regarding foam, odours and discolouration in the River Tywi" and "NRW have investigated and confirmed the impacts were linked to natural environmental conditions".
It said NRW had been investigating a separate potential source of pollution entering the Tywi and as those investigations remain ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Keith Elias's family have been fishing on the river for 300 years - he said he had only caught one fish this season.
"It's been in my family for so long, I love carrying the tradition on, but it's getting to the point where you get to the end of the season and you're not hitting fish.
"You just don't want to go."
Last year, the nearby River Teifi had been noted as one of the UK's most polluted rivers, with 2,232 spills lasting more than 22,000 hours recorded in 2024.
It has been reported that some incidents of pollution were made by Welsh Water.
The company said it would invest £889m on storm overflows between 2025 and 2030, including six projects to reduce their impact on the Tywi.
It added: "We are determined to play our part to improve river water quality on the Tywi, but this isn't just an issue for water companies, collaboration is needed across sectors, including industry and agriculture, to ensure improvements."
Local people have also shared videos online of discharge across the river, which they claim appear to be from a nearby electronics recycling company Mekatek.
The company has a discharge licence from NRW.
Mekatek said it shared concerns about the drop in sewin and had spent more than "40 years developing and improving our processes to ensure we are not a factor in that reduction".
It added: "Anyone wishing to understand what we do and how well we do it is more than welcome to arrange to visit the site and view our operations for themselves."
Carmarthenshire MP Ann Davies wants "firmer action taken" against those who "constantly pollute the river".
She also said - as someone who farms herself - farmers have a responsibility to not pollute the river, along with people and businesses.
"We have a collective responsibility on what we buy, what we flush down the toilet."
Huwel Manley, head of south-west operations for NRW, said "Like many rivers, the Tywi faces a range of environmental pressures, including pollution and is also impacted by the current dry weather conditions which are seeing an increase in the water temperature along with wider ecological challenges.
"We take all reports of suspected pollution seriously. We currently have a number of ongoing enforcement and compliance investigations within the Tywi catchment, including cases that are progressing towards court proceedings."
The Welsh government said: "The Tywi is one of Wales' most important rivers, supporting internationally important habitats and species, local communities, recreation and cultural traditions such as coracle fishing."
It had been "aware of recent concerns regarding foam, odours and discolouration in the River Tywi" and "NRW have investigated and confirmed the impacts were linked to natural environmental conditions".
It said NRW had been investigating a separate potential source of pollution entering the Tywi and as those investigations remain ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- The tradition on a Carmarthenshire river once fished by US President Jimmy Carter could be coming to an end