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The Thames is packed full of fish and cleaner than it has been for 200 years, fishing experts say.
More than 125 species, including wild salmon, trout, Dover sole, plaice, haddock and bass, now live in the 215-mile waterway which was declared biologically dead in 1957.
The stocks are attracting predators including porpoise, seals and dolphins which have been spotted as far upstream as London Bridge.
Martin Salter, parliamentary spokesman for angling, spent a day fishing outside the Houses of Parliament to prove the river was full of life.
He said: "I have caught and eaten trout in the Thames and it was delicious. In theory, if a fish is capable of living in the water, it can't be bad to eat. You can only take two fish home a day. But fishing is equally fun just to catch and release."
Mr Salter, Labour MP for Reading West, is working with John Bailey, fishing expert for television channel Horse and Country, on a documentary series on fishing in the Thames.
Mr Bailey said: "The river is cleaner than it has ever been and we want to show that."
There is still concern, however, over the amount of sewage that gets into the Thames. Last week fish were killed when 900,000 tons of sewage overflowed into the river after heavy rain filled the pipes - the second overspill in five days.
Thames Water has begun a project to build a 20-mile tunnel to act as an overflow pipe under the river and stop waste going into the Thames.
But Charles Rangeley-Wilson, fishing author and broadcaster, said: "Forty years ago the thought that trout could live in the river would have seemed like an ecological impossibility.
"But many species are flourishing. It's cleaner now than it has been for more than 200 years."
He said ecological awareness and the interest of the capital's fishermen had helped the river replenish.
Mark Anderson, a fly fishing teacher and Thames guide, said: "The Thames today is the most phenomenal environmental success story in the whole of Europe. But there is more that can be done. It is still cheaper to pollute and risk a fine than it is to use environmentally friendly channels."
Tanya Houston, Environment Agency fisheries officer, said to fish in the Thames the normal rod and line fishing licence for freshwater fish is needed.
What lurks in our river
In the last 25 years, 125 species of fish have been recorded, spotted, caught or seen in the Thames.
Almost 200 commercial fishing boats operate within the Thames estuary, catching sole, cod, bass, ray, sprats, plaice, herring and eels. Some go on sale at Billingsgate Fish Market.
New breeds of fish have been introduced into the river in the past 30 years, including chub, roach, bream, perch and gudgeon.
In 2003, a fly fisherman caught a 2.5lb trout next to Wandsworth council's bin lorry depot.
Colonies of rare seahorses, right, have been found. The short-snouted seahorses, which are protected, were discovered by experts from the Zoological Society of London and are being monitored.
In 2006, an 18ft northern bottlenosed whale swam up the Thames. It later died.
Reader views (9)
"New breeds of fish have been introduced into the river in the past 30 years, including chub, roach, bream, perch and gudgeon." Surely this is a mistake?? All these species have been present in the Thames since time immemorial? Maybe re-stocking has taken place to boost the numbers but these are not 'new breeds of fish'.
- Bill, Leyland, UK
I live near to Mogden Sewage works and an a keen angler. It was only a few years back when due to heavy rain fall, thousands of fish were killed in the tidal Thames up as far as Twickenham and down stream to Chiswick. There are plans to 'tidy' the situation up, but in these times it seems fairly medievil that we dump 'our' waste, mostly untreated into the Thames and then drink it!
- Terence Sheehan, Isleworth UK
A move in the right direction. But Thames Water have a lot of improvements to make before they can claim any sort of success on this river or its tributaries. I draw attension to my local Thames tributary the river Cherwell. North of Banbury Thames Water abstract enough water to supply a town population of 50000 adults plus out laying populas. Then at southern end of town return some of the water???? back into river as sewage and not always treated!!!!!!! A good publicity exercise granted but sort out the problems fully before claiming successes.
- Colin Gordon, Oxford
- Steve, Brentford I agree fully with your comment
- Gary, Brentwood
There is plenty of Old Trout sitting inside the Houses of Parliament.
- Bill, Southend
A great recovery story, probably one of the best ever.
I'm amazed, though... Great success, and anglers are allowed to keep and kill the still struggling fish (they're not in the clear yet). "You can only take two fish home a day", what the hell, there were no fish available a decade ago. Make it Catch and Release, it's the only sustainable way to have a fishery in a large urban center!! And allowing so much commercial fishing at the mouth. As soon as you've got a little it is going to be squandered away. Why not let stocks recover for a decade before they become overfished?
But of course, with less pollution as an issue, everybody will blame the seals and cormorants... not the fishing.
- Harps, Alberta, Canada
not with the 750,000 tons of sewage that went in last week. Come on - pull the other one.
- Steve, Brentford
At one time the only fish in the Thames were 'Thames Trout' (condoms)good to see the river in such good shape.
- Jaqui Smith, Bromsgrove, uk
Presumably this is despite Thames water dumping raw sewage and chemicals "accidently" year on year?
- Bob, Cheam
