On the last days of August 2025, a quiet corner of Powys, Wales, became the unlikely stage for a dramatic act of environmental rescue. As Aberhafesp Brook—usually a haven for wildlife and local photographers—ran dry after a relentless summer, residents of Newtown found themselves racing against time to save thousands of stranded fish gasping for air in a shrinking puddle.
Dave Lister, a resident known for his keen eye for local wildlife, was the first to spot the crisis. "When I pulled up and got out of the van I saw that the whole brook had completely gone. I've never seen it like that," he told Radio Wales Breakfast, as reported by the BBC. What had once been a lively stream was now reduced to bare stones and a single, muddy pool—"full to the top" with desperate fish. Among them were salmon, trout, and stickleback, some already dead, others frantically searching for oxygen.
Alarmed by the sight, Lister immediately contacted Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the government body tasked with protecting the region's environment. "The fish were in real bad distress by this time. Legally I don't know if I'm allowed to just start taking them out," Lister recounted. He was told that someone from NRW would get back to him, but as the minutes ticked by, the urgency of the situation grew. "I said call back urgently because if you're not going to do anything I need to start doing something. Half an hour had gone and there was no call back from them, so that's when I phoned friends and we started getting in and shovelling them all down to the river."
Through the evening and into the next morning, Lister and his friends worked tirelessly, scooping up fish and carrying them to the river in a desperate attempt to save as many as possible. "We carried on finding more and more and still there was no response at all from NRW," he said. The group’s actions, while fueled by compassion, soon became a point of contention.
NRW, in a statement issued after the incident, acknowledged the public’s concern but cautioned that moving fish during periods of extreme low water and high temperatures can "cause more harm than good." According to the agency, the stress of handling and relocation, especially in such harsh conditions, often proves fatal for smaller species. "Many fish, including smaller species, did not survive the stress of being handled and relocated," NRW stated, emphasizing that even larger, more resilient fish can struggle if introduced into already stressed river systems. The newcomers may compete for scarce resources, putting further strain on existing populations.
Despite these warnings, Lister stood by his decision. "What we did was better than leaving them to die and just walking away," he insisted, echoing a sentiment shared by many in the community who felt compelled to act in the face of inaction.
The situation at Aberhafesp Brook did not arise in a vacuum. The summer of 2025 has been one for the record books. According to the Met Office, the United Kingdom has "almost certainly" experienced its hottest summer ever recorded. Wales, in particular, has suffered through four separate heatwaves, with north Wales officially declared in drought status on August 29—the driest six-month stretch since 1976. Rainfall totals tell the story starkly: between February and July, Wales received just 555mm of rain, a fraction of what its rivers and streams need to stay healthy.
These extreme weather patterns have had devastating consequences for aquatic ecosystems. Ben Cottam, director of the Canal and River Trust for Wales, described the situation as a "very, very difficult period" for wildlife. "We are facing a very, very significant and prolonged period of drought-like conditions. That does affect wildlife and where that happens we will seek to do what we can to protect that wildlife," he told the BBC. The impact goes beyond small brooks like Aberhafesp. Many of Wales’ canals are fed by rivers such as the Usk, which Cottam noted is "at historically low levels and in a drought-like state that means we are having to pay for 100% of the water that is going into that canal to maintain that."
Reduced water flow doesn’t just mean less habitat for fish—it also leads to lower dissolved oxygen levels, a critical factor for aquatic life. NRW explained, "This has led to reduced dissolved oxygen in water, and isolated pools in smaller streams, which are all conditions that can cause fish distress and mortality." As streams fragment into puddles, fish become trapped, oxygen levels plummet, and mortality rates soar.
NRW insists its teams are working hard to "monitor" and "respond" to environmental pressures across Wales. "We are aware of reports of fish struggling in Aberhafesp and we understand the public concern about the impact on fish populations here and across the region," a spokesperson said. But the agency’s guidance remains clear: moving fish is risky, and sometimes doing nothing is the lesser evil.
This stance has not satisfied everyone, especially those who witnessed the suffering firsthand. The debate over whether to intervene highlights a broader dilemma facing conservationists and local communities alike: in a world of increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather, what is the right course of action when nature’s balance tips so dramatically?
For Lister and his neighbors, the answer was to act, even if the outcome was uncertain. Their efforts, while imperfect, were born of a deep connection to their environment and a refusal to stand by as an entire ecosystem gasped for survival. "We carried on finding more and more," Lister recalled, the memory still fresh. The sight of so many fish in distress was, for him and his friends, simply too much to ignore.
As climate extremes become more frequent, stories like this may become all too common. The events in Powys serve as a stark reminder of the fragility of our waterways—and the difficult choices communities face when the forces of nature and bureaucracy collide. For now, Aberhafesp Brook’s fate remains uncertain, but the actions of those who stepped in, for better or worse, have left an indelible mark on its story.
