Guadalfeo River fish die-off occurs after riverbed dries

A two-kilometre stretch of the Guadalfeo River between Lobres and Salobreña in Granada, Spain, dried up completely between Friday evening and Saturday, October 10, 2026. The lack of water resulted in the death of thousands of fish, including the vulnerable Iberian chub and the critically endangered European eel.

Biologist Pablo Jáimez attempted to rescue stranded eels by transporting them in buckets to deeper water, successfully saving 28 of approximately 30 eels he collected. The Association for the Conservation of Fish and Aquatic Ecosystems of the South (ACPES) noted that man-made barriers and dykes prevented fish from migrating to deeper sections of the river to escape the drying pools.

Environmentalists suggest the crisis was caused by a failure to maintain the legally required ‘ecological flow’. Potential causes include insufficient water release from the Rules Dam or excessive diversion by local farmers at the Vélez weir. While the Junta de Andalucía stated they adhered to the legal minimum flow of 250 litres per second, attributing the incident to operational adjustments and soil absorption, authorities have since increased the flow to 350 litres per second to refill the dry stretch.