FISHING has been banned at Canvey Lake to allow for the ecosystem to recover from mass death events last summers amid soaring temperatures.

Hundreds of fish perished last year, along with deaths of cygnets and other wildlife – in a repeat of issues experienced in the summer of 2017.

All fishing has been suspended at the lake until further notice to help it to recover from the damage.

The decision has also been taken – on the advice of environmental experts – to remove a substantial quantity of fish stock from the lake for their own welfare and to help improve the ecology and biodiversity of the area.

The fish will be moved into isolation ponds by a specialist contractor under the supervision of The Environment Agency where they will be allowed to live out the rest of their natural lives.

Canvey Island town mayor, councillor Doreen Anderson, said: “We know that Canvey Lake is a valued open space for the community and popular with fishermen, but the reality is it is not a fishery or an ornamental lake. It is a surface water run off tank, designed to take water from the surrounding roads, and as such is very polluted.

“With less rainfall and warmer summers, we know that what happened in 2022 will happen again.

“Unless something changes, we will keep repeating this cycle and so cannot allow such a large fish population to exist in the lake.”

The council will is working with Thames 21 and other environmental organisations to review other ecological interventions to help improve water quality.

It will hold a public consultation to review a future plan for the lake in due course.

A council spokesman added: “Over the last few years and due to the impact of climate change we have seen an increase in extreme heat, the lack of rainfall and the shallow nature of the lake causing excess evaporation and algal bloom'.

“This results in reduced oxygen levels, and more concentrated toxins such as ammonia, in the water and in turn leads to the death of fish, water birds and other wildlife.

“Many fish in the lake also suffer from Koi herpesvirus (KHV). While KHV poses no risk to human health, it causes serious skin lesions in some fish and can lead to large scale mortality.”