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A mythical river
The Loue was once one of Europe's most beautiful salmon rivers. A dream for generations of anglers, it is now a mere shadow of its former self. While people sometimes came from far and wide to visit the beautiful zebra trout (fario trout of Mediterranean origin) and grayling that once abounded, fish populations have dwindled to such an extent that few still frequent the river.
All wildlife is affected
Episodes of fish mortality occur almost every year at the end of winter, as is still the case at the beginning of 2025. The sight is horrifying: trout covered in white moss (saprolegnia) slowly dying.
Jean Verneaux, a famous hydrobiologist from the Franche-Comté region, was already saying that the quality of the river was deteriorating in the 70's. 55 years later, nothing has improved, quite the contrary.
The first large-scale mortality episode took place in 2010, 15 years ago. Since then, follow-up electric fishing has been carried out every year by the federation, with increasingly poor results.
Fish mortality is not the only consequence of this drop in water quality. All fauna is affected, starting with aquatic insects.
However, scientific studies have highlighted various sources of the problem, with agricultural pollution topping the list. This is the region where the famous Comté cheese is produced. Production of this cheese has more than doubled in just a few decades, leading to a 4-fold increase in nitrate levels in the river. In concrete terms, this means
When you consider that water from the Loue supplies tens of thousands of people in the city of Besançon with drinking water...
Time to mobilize
A collective SOS Loue et Rivières Comtoises was created to combat this slow death. I give him the floor to find out more about this event:
"For almost two months now, the situation on the Upper Loue between Mouthier and Ornans has once again been problematic, with new and very worrying mortalities. Environmental and fishing associations have decided to organize a major action to mark World Water Day on March 22 in Ornans.
There will be two phases:
-2pm: a parade from Place Courbet to Courbet's tomb in the cemetery, with various speeches.
-6 p.m.: a video screening of this year's deaths, followed by explanations and a debate with the public at the Eldorado cinema in Ornans
Today it's the Loue, but all the rivers in Franche-Comté are affected by the same problems: the Franco-Swiss Doubs, the Ain, the Cusancin, the Bienne, the Dessoubre...
It's high time we all realized what we're losing.
