River Tywi Pollution Cuts Coracle Catch to 12 Fish, Cancelling 2026 Festival

Q: What secret pollution source is under investigation while a 300-year-old Welsh fishing tradition faces total extinction?

Natural Resources Wales says it has identified a **separate potential source of pollution entering the River Tywi**, but it is **not naming it publicly** because doing so could jeopardise possible enforcement action. What is known is limited. NRW has confirmed that some of the foam, scum and discolouration seen on the river were caused by **naturally occurring marine algae**, especially in warm weather and around tide times. But beyond that, the agency says its investigation has also uncovered another possible pollutant source and that inquiries are continuing. Public suspicion has focused on **discharges near the Mekatek electronics recycling site in Johnstown**, after residents shared videos of yellow effluent and campaigners linked concerns to the company’s licensed outfall. Mekatek has denied being responsible for the collapse in fish numbers, and NRW has not publicly confirmed that site as the source under investigation. The wider evidence points to **multiple pressures on the Tywi**, not one confirmed culprit. Campaigners’ testing found signs of **industrial, agricultural and human waste pollution**, while officials have also cited **low water levels, drought conditions and warmer temperatures** as major stress factors. Those combined pressures have helped drive catches to near-zero levels, putting the centuries-old coracle fishery at serious risk.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 20

Only 12 fish were caught by the River Tywi’s four coracle fishermen across the 2026 season, with one fifth-generation fisher landing just one fish between May and July.
Save the River Tywi tests found evidence of industrial, agricultural and human waste pollution, while fishermen reported dead fish, foul smells and repeated sightings of discoloured discharge.
July’s annual Tywi River Festival was cancelled over the pollution, and local officials warned the centuries-old Carmarthenshire tradition could end if fishermen do not renew licences next year.
Natural Resources Wales said it has ongoing enforcement and compliance investigations in the Tywi catchment, including cases moving toward court, while the Welsh government cited both natural conditions and a separate suspected pollution source.
The decline echoes wider river-quality concerns in west Wales after the nearby Teifi logged 2,232 spills lasting more than 22,000 hours in 2024.