Swimming fish to generate electricity

With the rise in oil prices and the government wishing to develop alternative fuel - Harnessing the power of swimming fish could hold the key to generating electricity to power Britain's homes in the future, according to Government scientists.

The Environment Agency's Horizon Scanning Team found the nation's rivers are full of untapped energy in the form of fish migrating upstream.

By installing networks of electric prongs along the riverbed, the energy can be captured and fed into the National Grid.

Environmentalists welcomed the opportunity to not only generate clean energy but ensure rivers are maintained for wildlife.

The project, codenamed 'Finetics', builds on Japanese technology that captures energy from people walking over pressure sensitive mats at train stations.

Dr Andrea Pool, who heads up the Horizon Scanning team, said: "Initially we looked at working with sheep and cattle as well as fish, but it quickly became apparent that the energy-generating potential of fish far outweighed that of slow-moving grazing stocks. Plus, fish populations are the healthiest they have been as a result of huge improvements in water quality over the past two decades."