DOZENS of fish are dying in an ancient Saxon pond that has dried out in the heat.
Falmer Pond in East Street, Falmer, has been dwindling over the last month and several people have reported fish dying.
The fish, believed to be grass or ghost carp, have been seen “gasping for breath” in the murky waters but dozens have already died.
Sean Doherty, a retired fisherman from Brighton, said he visits the pond regularly with a friend and was horrified when he saw the “shallow puddle” on Wednesday.
The 61-year-old said: “I was appalled, beyond appalled to be honest. If the council which own it can’t do anything about it they should at least put them out their misery. You can’t just leave them there like that.
“Out of the 40 or 50 fish in the pond, there are probably about 20 left. There are half a dozen dead upside down on the surface.
“The other fish are swimming half in the water just gasping for oxygen.
“They’re probably one of the toughest coarse fish there are, they’re not a weak fish. They’re tough and hardy. They can live in pretty much anything but they can’t live in anything that hasn’t got oxygen in it.
“I know the council have said before it is down to the climate crisis. They aren’t taking full responsibility. It is cruelty.”
Last month, The Argus reported on fish dying at the pond in Queen’s Park, West Drive, Brighton.
On Sunday, a group is meeting at Falmer Pond to try to save the fish.
Yesterday, a woman posted on Facebook pleading for people to help rescue the “barely alive” fish from the pond with her.
The Argus has previously reported on the "Falmer fish disaster" when an angler said he warned the council about the pond drying out in heatwaves.
Brighton and Hove City Council said Falmer Pond is not designed to have fish in it as the body of water will “inevitably dry out”.
It said it has also made a joint bid with South Downs National Park for funding to restore the pond by removing silt in the bottom and fixing leaks.
A spokesman said: “We appreciate that many residents are upset about ponds in our city drying up at the moment and causing fish to die.
“Ultimately the problem is due to the hot, dry weather we’ve had. This is a national and indeed international problem caused by climate change.
“Our ponds are not designed for fish. Like many ponds in the city, Falmer Pond is not fed by a stream but by runoff from the surrounding area so in times of drought they will inevitably dry out.
“There should be no fish in the ponds in our parks for precisely these reasons. The only reason they are there is because some people release their unwanted fish into them.
“We would emphasise that people should never do this.
“Amphibians and many other native wildlife that live in our ponds can generally survive droughts.
“But amphibians cannot protect themselves from being killed by non-native fish. So this is also about protecting our native species.
“In the long term our ponds will almost certainly fill up again when the rain returns.
“Given the current serious concerns about water supply we cannot refill the ponds. In any case filling the pond with tap water would cause further algal bloom that would further remove oxygen and thus kill the fish.
“Moving the fish at short notice is extremely difficult because of national disease testing regulations.
“We will be putting signs up at Falmer pond discouraging people from dumping their fish in there."
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