Not just the tough, garbage-eating kind. Oh no, we’re talking about serious, respectable fish. Species that would make an angler weep with joy. We’ve got salmon, people. Actual, wild Atlantic salmon, swimming right past the Houses of Parliament.
Think about that. Salmon—those fancy, expensive, jumping-upstream legends—are cruising through a river that used to be a chemical soup. It’s like finding a Rolex in a dumpster. And they’re not alone.
You’ve also got sea trout, bass, flounder, and even eels. Yes, eels. The same slippery guys that wiggle through your nightmares and your jellied eel appetizer. They’re doing just fine down there.
But Isn’t The Water Still… Gross?
I see you squinting. You’re wondering about the color. The Thames is famously brown, but that’s mostly sediment—mud churned up by the tides. It’s not raw sewage (anymore). The water quality has skyrocketed thanks to the Thames Tideway Tunnel—a massive super-sewer that’s basically the river’s superhero cape.
That doesn’t mean you should drink it. Please don’t. But for a fish, it’s a five-star hotel. Scientists have found over 125 species of fish in the Thames estuary. That’s more than you’d find in some tropical reefs. Take that, Great Barrier Reef.
Fish Life Beneath the Thames River - YouTube
And here’s the kicker: they’ve even found seahorses. Yes, seahorses. In England. In a river people joke about being polluted. The Short-snouted Seahorse is now a Thames resident. Imagine the tiny, proud expressions on their little faces.
