A fisherman has claimed pollution from the Aberdeen bypass has killed thousands of trout in a nearby loch.
Ian Muir owns the fishing rights to Corby Loch, near Bridge of Don, and has cast his line there for about 44 years.
The 74-year-old says he has noticed dramatic changes since construction started on the £750million AWPR, which he blames on sediment blowing off the new road.
Mr Muir claims the problem is so bad that on one visit to the loch this summer, there were around “5,000 or 6,000” dead fish floating in the water.
Last night he said that not a single fish has been caught since around that time in August, and believes a new culvert also means fresh water cannot get into the loch.
Mr Muir has called on environmental bodies Sepa and SNH to investigate, and has collected his own samples to show the change in water since the start of the roads project.
But although Sepa has visited the site, Mr Muir is unsatisfied and believes they should do more to protect the 32-acre site.
He said: “I have been in touch with Sepa and Scottish National Heritage and to be honest they seem to be passing the buck.
“I was there on August 1 and 2nd and the loch was full of thousands of dead fish, there were so many it took the birds a fortnight to eat them.
“It is the sediment blowing off the road and the culvert has been blocked so the fish can’t get out to spawn.
“I think if we got it cleaned now it would take about five years to get back to normal.”
Corby Loch is fished by the Balgownie Fishing Syndicate primarily for brown and rainbow trout, and the AWPR is being built several hundred yards away.
Pollution fears have been raised in other parts of the massive infrastructure project, with Sepa even stopping work at one section in June 2016 due to flooding.
Last night, Bridge of Don councillor John Reynolds said: “These allegations are very concerning, it could potentially impact other waterways too.”
North East MSP Peter Chapman added: “There are obviously risks you take when developing so close to fresh water.
“If it can proven the building of the AWPR is to blame for the pollution of the loch, this is a very serious matter that should have been resolved before this came to light.”
A Sepa spokesman said: “On August 1, Sepa received a report of fish mortalities at Corby Loch near Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.
“An investigation undertaken by Sepa confirmed the death of a large number of juvenile sticklebacks.
“Water samples and sticklebacks were collected and analysed at Sepa’s Aberdeen Laboratory. Whilst the outcome of the assessments did not identify a conclusive cause of the fish mortalities, two of the sticklebacks collected did show signs of asphyxiation. This could suggest a drop in oxygen levels in the water, which may have been exacerbated by warm conditions and low water levels in the loch.
“We have not received any further reports of fish mortalities at Corby Loch. We would advise members of the public to contact our 24-hour Pollution Hotline on 0800 807060 to report all potential pollution events.”
