Bristol Avon Rivers Trust is calling for EDF to install the Acoustic Fish Deterrent at Hinkley Point to prevent mass annual fish death in the power station’s cooling water intake pipes.
The new nuclear power station at Hinkley (HPC) will draw the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools of cooling water per minute from the Severn Estuary, one of the UK’s most highly designated nature conservation sites.
The huge intake pipes, equivalent to the cross-section of six double decker buses, are required to have an Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD) fitted to prevent millions of fish being sucked into the system. Ten years into construction and EDF are still putting off fitting this important fish protection.
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust are not against the power station providing vital power for the UK, BUT, is just demanding that the fish protection measures be installed as originally consented and that damage to the Severn Estuary ecosystem is properly addressed. Find out more and sign our public petition in this blog.
A further action you can take is to Email your MP. Or you could choose to email Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, or Secretary of State for the Environment, Steve Reed. To do so, please use and personalise the below email template:
Subject: Urgent Action Required to Protect Migratory Fish in the Severn Estuary – Opposition to EDF’s AFD Removal
Dear Secretary of State [Or insert MP’s name here]
I am deeply concerned by EDF’s attempts to avoid installing an Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD) at Hinkley Point C (HPC). This safeguard, initially mandated as part of HPC’s discharge consent, is critical for protecting migratory fish species in the Severn Estuary, a globally significant and protected habitat. I am writing to urge you to stand up for our precious rivers and the invaluable biodiversity they sustain by making sure EDF installs the AFD as required.
The Ecological Stakes
HPC is set to draw an unprecedented 132,000 litres of water per second from the Severn Estuary, a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA), and Ramsar Site. This estuary is a vital migratory route for species such as the endangered Atlantic salmon, European eel, and twaite shad—keystone species for the ecosystem and vital to the food chain. These species are iconic, yet highly threatened, as they arrive in the Severn Estuary as part of their epic international journeys,
Without the AFD, EDF’s own estimates suggest that between 1.89 million and 2.9 million fish will be killed annually, while other studies suggest 182 million fish would be drawn into the intake with many killed. These losses would not only devastate fish populations, but also harm the broader ecosystem, including bird species dependent on this food source.
Additionally, if EDF proceeds without AFD and ecosystems are harmed, this would undermine Government’s efforts to meet the species abundance target in the Environment Act 2021 and international commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
EDF’s Commitments and Current Actions
When consent for HPC was granted in 2013, it included three mitigation measures:
- Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD)
- Low-velocity side intakes
- Fish Recovery and Return system
These measures were approved as a holistic mitigation package, designed to work together to protect fish populations. However, EDF now seeks to remove the AFD, citing technical challenges, despite a Public Inquiry and a 2022 ruling by the Secretary of State for the Environment reaffirming the necessity and feasibility of the AFD.
EDF’s proposed alternative—a compensation package including saltmarsh creation and limited fish passage improvements—is woefully inadequate. While saltmarsh restoration has environmental value, it does little to mitigate the harm to migratory fish species like salmon, shad and eel, which require access to freshwater catchments to complete their life cycles.
Bristol Avon’s Role and the Gaps in Compensation
The Bristol Avon is a recovering river system, flowing into the Severn Estuary, just upstream of the HPC site. The river supports many of the species affected by HPC’s operations, yet it has been left out of EDF’s compensation plans. It is essential that compensation measures, such as removing barriers to fish migration and restoring river habitats, are also implemented in catchments – including in the Bristol Avon, which is geographically and ecologically closer to HPC than many rivers currently included in EDF’s plans.
Our Call to Action
To safeguard the ecological health of the Severn Estuary and its river catchments, we call on you to:
- Uphold the requirement for EDF to install the AFD as originally agreed.
- Ensure there is proper mitigation and compensation, regardless of whether the AFD is installed.
- Ensure that compensation measures are comprehensive and address all affected species, with a specific focus on migratory fish, removing river barriers and restoring habitats.
- Press for the inclusion of the Bristol Avon in compensation plans, given its importance to migratory fish.
Conclusion
The Severn Estuary is a globally important ecosystem, and its protection is a matter of both national and international responsibility. Removing the AFD not only undermines the integrity of previous agreements but also places irreplaceable species at risk. We urge you to hold EDF accountable for delivering on its original commitments and ensuring that adequate protections are in place before HPC becomes operational.
We hope you will prioritise this critical issue and help safeguard the future of our rivers, fish, and ecosystems.
I look forward to hearing from you and, if possible, please copy info@bristolavonriverstrust.org in your reply.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
You can read BART’s Position Statement on Hinkley Point C here.