THOUSANDS of fish are being moved from their home in the Union Canal to allow a section of the 200-year-old waterway to be drained.
Their temporary move from the three-mile stretch of water will allow a winter maintenance programme to go ahead at the Manse Road Basin in Linlithgow, West Lothian.
A rescue team is using netting and electro-fishing methods to capture the roach, tench, perch, pike, three-spined stickleback, eel and brown trout resident in the waterway.
The species are being transferred to holding tanks and transported along the towpath to adjacent sections of canal.
The project will allow engineers to undertake a detailed study of the canal embankments, identify and repair any leaks, and inspect and remove any obstructions within the channel.
Around 30,000 cubic metres of water will be drained from the canal to enable the work, which will last until February 16.
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