Worst summer in two decades for salmon fishing Mr Gray said salmon levels in Hampshire were "pretty critical" due to a combination of water quality, abstraction - water being taken from rivers - and the high temperatures. The Environment Agency reported scores of roach, chub and bream dying in Norfolk and London during July, with trout and salmon stocks affected in the south west.There were also concerns about heavy intense rain, causing pollution to run into waterways. Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal said it would take the angling industry some time to recover. He said as well as low oxygen levels during the hot spell, abstraction was a problem. "The problem with high temperatures is the oxygen content goes down in the water and you get "low flows" which concentrate pollution because there is less dilution," he said. It has a big impact on the fish stocks which will have a long term impact on fishing. The hot weather has an impact, particularly on salmon fishing. A lot of the fish are down in the estuary waiting to come in, and a lot of rivers lose about one or two per cent of their stock a day as they are in the estuary. We need a lot more rain to make a difference. The Environment Agency reported 15 separate incidents of fish, particularly trout, bream and chub, dying across the country because of the July heatwave. Teams used specialist pumps to boost oxygen levels at lakes across the UK, including in Pitville Park Lake in Cheltenham and Tiptree village pond in Essex, where oxygen levels dipped from a healthy 40 to just three per cent. Godfrey Williams, Environment and Business Manager (Fisheries) at the Environment Agency, said: "The problems extended from Cornwall in the south west to Gloucester, London and Kent. It has been a particularly intense period, and a significant period of concern for fish, particularly through southern parts of the country. We haven't had so many reports of dying salmon, the main issue has been its deterred fish from entering rivers. Richard Garner-Williams, regional chairman for the salmon and trout association in Wales, said some fisheries had put a temporary stop on salmon fishing because of the hot weather, which caused there to be less fish in the rivers. He said a fishery owner in Wales said they had turned away customers because of the lack of salmon running through the rivers during the hot spell. He said: "Last year we had a tremendous amount of rainfall, it was much more successful for salmon fishing. If you have a dry summer there are not many fish running along the river. But anglers said they hoped as temperatures had now dipped, salmon would be encouraged to run into rivers and stocks would not be depleted. The Environment Agency said the areas affected during July were: Moston Flash, Sandbach Tear drop lakes, Milton Keynes Pittville Park, Cheltenham Springfield Marina, River Lee River Parr, Cornwall River Delph, Welney, Norfolk Grand union canal, Southall Hornchurch River, Ingrebourne South Park lake, Ilford The Mote, Park Farm, Ashford Swalcliffe Brook, Kent