Foto Sebastien Salom-Gomis/Sipa/Shutterstock Высохший рукав Луары в Луаронсе
Fish are being transported to areas where rivers are still capable of sustaining life
According to The Guardian, in Brittany, volunteers, together with specialists from the Finistère Departmental Fisheries Federation, catch trout and young Atlantic salmon daily from the upper reaches of the Odet River. The fish are placed in tanks filled with oxygenated water and then transported 15–20 kilometers downstream, where tributaries feed into the river and conditions for survival are significantly better.
According to federation representative Matthieu Le Buter, this summer has been one of the hardest in recent years. In some sections of the Odet, the water isn’t even knee-deep, and forecasts do not predict any rain in the coming days. The combination of high temperatures and low oxygen levels poses a deadly threat, above all, to trout and young Atlantic salmon, which require cold, flowing water and stable oxygen levels.
The drought has affected nearly all of France
The crisis has affected virtually the entire country. The Loire—France’s longest river—has reached one of its lowest levels on record. In some sections, its channel has turned into a series of narrow channels separated by sandy shoals. In the western regions of the country, some small rivers have already dried up completely.
According to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, nearly one-third of hydrological stations are recording the lowest water levels in the past 20 years, and about one-quarter of small rivers and streams have completely dried up. At the same time, the number of mass fish deaths linked to rising water temperatures is on the rise.
The struggle for water is becoming an economic issue
Against this backdrop, the French National Assembly has approved a bill that streamlines the construction of reservoirs for storing water intended for irrigating farmland and meeting livestock needs. Authorities consider this measure necessary to adapt to droughts, but environmental organizations warn that increased water withdrawal could further degrade the condition of rivers and exacerbate the conflict between agricultural interests and the conservation of aquatic ecosystems.
Claude Roustang, president of the National Federation of Fisheries of France, stated that the degradation of rivers is linked not only to climate change but also to the growing withdrawal of freshwater for irrigation. According to him, fishing organizations are increasingly taking on emergency response roles, rescuing fish populations where natural conditions no longer allow them to survive on their own.
For French environmentalists, these current rescue operations have become a symbol of a new phase in the climate crisis. Instead of restoring natural ecosystems, it is increasingly necessary to manually prevent their collapse. As heat waves become more frequent, this practice may become commonplace not only in France but also in other European countries, where drought and water shortages are becoming one of the key environmental and economic challenges.
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