Latest news with #riverconservation
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Call for greater monitoring of £12m Colwick fish pass
A charity is calling for greater monitoring of England's largest fish pass, which cost £ described as a "motorway for fish", it was installed at Colwick Country Park in Nottinghamshire by the Environment Agency (EA) and opened in November aim was to "make it easier for salmon and other fish to reach their spawning and feeding grounds" along the River Trent, boosting declining EA has no legal obligation to monitor the effectiveness of the structure and will carry out short-term checks during key migratory windows, but the Trent Rivers Trust fears it is not enough. 'Canary in the coal mine' Wild Atlantic salmon were once native to the River Trent and are the main species the fish pass was designed to help fell rapidly during the industrial revolution when weirs and dams prevented them from reaching breeding grounds and water pollution destroyed their habitats."They've been referred to as the canary in the coal mine," said Alison Baker, restoration director at the Wild Atlantic Salmon Trust."Salmon require cold, clean water and if there's no cold clean water, then we all suffer."The fish pass is built around Holme Sluices, part of a 1950s flood defence scheme owned by the EA on the notoriously unpredictable structure is 210m (656ft) long, 6m (19.7ft) deep and 6.5m (21.3ft) is divided into 20 ascending chambers - each slightly higher than the previous ones to match the slope of the landscape - into which water flows through narrow slots. The EA said the pass - built under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 - was "carefully designed and is relevant for all fish species, including salmon".It is yet to carry out any monitoring and plans to perform short-term checks using underwater cameras to "better understand fish migration" in autumn of this year and spring Dr Scott McKenzie, head of rivers and nature-based solutions at the Trent Rivers Trust, said it was not enough to know how efficient the fish pass is or to learn from it."We don't just want a snapshot into whether they can get through at certain times of year," he added."A fish pass like this costs a lot of money; we want to make sure it's worth it."Dr McKenzie said monitoring should involve counting salmon at key breeding sites to check they were "not only navigating the structure, but actually reaching their breeding habitats", and include other recovering species. Dr McKenzie said monitoring should involve counting salmon at key breeding sites to check if they were "not only navigating the structure, but actually reaching their breeding habitats", and include other recovering species. The Trent Rivers Trust is leading a recovery of a 75km stretch of the river - a project that could see further fish passes McKenzie said the facility at Colwick was "only worth it if it's part of a bigger recovery plan which should include monitoring".The EA said: "For salmon monitoring, funding is concentrated on those rivers designated as 'principal salmon rivers', which the River Trent is not."Therefore, a strategy of monitoring at key migration windows is being applied here."Should further funding become available, the monitoring will be enhanced."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Trout rehomed downstream due to dry weather
More than 50 brown trout have been given new homes because of the extreme heat and dry weather this summer. The fish are being relocated from a section of the River Lambourn, near Hungerford in Berkshire, where the water level has "significantly dropped". The rescue and relocation comes after the country suffered its driest spring since 1893. Peter Gray, fisheries team leader in the Thames Valley for the Environment Agency (EA) and in charge of the transfer of fish, said: "We've acted today to save the fish." Earlier this month, the EA declared the Thames Valley and parts of Surrey to be in a period of prolonged dry weather. Expected rainfall in the area has been down 50% over the last three months. Three heatwaves and a long dry spell have put more pressure on wildlife and habitats, including rivers. The healthy fish were removed from the Lambourn in oxygenated tanks, then rehomed in deeper waters a short distance downstream. Officers will monitor the juvenile and adult trout to make sure they get used to their new surroundings. Mr Gray said: "The water level has dropped significantly, we are trying to be proactive and move the fish before the situation creates anymore problems. "We hope this population of brown trout, up to around three years old, will be much happier in a part of the Lambourn with stronger flows. "We've acted today to save the fish. They can be the first casualties when conditions deteriorate, and react better to being moved in cooler temperatures." The EA has urged anglers, swimmers and boaters to report any environmental concerns they see, such as fish gasping for air on the surface of a river or lake. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. More like this New rules for salmon and trout fishing in Cornwall Bringing back wild brown trout to 'damaged' river Drought threatens trout farm's future Salmon numbers at lowest since records began Related Links Environment Agency
BBC News
6 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Berkshire trout released downstream due to dry weather
More than 50 brown trout have been given new homes because of the extreme heat and dry weather this fish are being relocated from a section of the River Lambourn, near Hungerford in Berkshire, where the water level has "significantly dropped".The rescue and relocation comes after the country suffered its driest spring since Gray, fisheries team leader in the Thames Valley for the Environment Agency (EA) and in charge of the transfer of fish, said: "We've acted today to save the fish." Earlier this month, the EA declared the Thames Valley and parts of Surrey to be in a period of prolonged dry rainfall in the area has been down 50% over the last three heatwaves and a long dry spell have put more pressure on wildlife and habitats, including rivers. The healthy fish were removed from the Lambourn in oxygenated tanks, then rehomed in deeper waters a short distance downstream. Officers will monitor the juvenile and adult trout to make sure they get used to their new Gray said: "The water level has dropped significantly, we are trying to be proactive and move the fish before the situation creates anymore problems."We hope this population of brown trout, up to around three years old, will be much happier in a part of the Lambourn with stronger flows."We've acted today to save the fish. They can be the first casualties when conditions deteriorate, and react better to being moved in cooler temperatures."The EA has urged anglers, swimmers and boaters to report any environmental concerns they see, such as fish gasping for air on the surface of a river or lake. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
15-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Chalk stream conservation hailed a success
A five-year-long project to improve the landscape around one of south Wiltshire's rare chalk streams has been hailed a Crystal Clear Ebble project aimed to inspire communities and volunteers to protect the river, which runs from Alvediston in the west to Bodenham, south of Salisbury, where it joins the Hampshire grants have enabled landowners to open up the waterway and introduce helpful plant species, which has led to an increase in wildlife and protected the Ebble's water river is one of only 200 chalk streams in the world, with 80% of those found in southern England. Simon Allsebrook received advice and a grant to improve the stream running through his property."They cleared the river out, graded the bank down and opened up the canopy to let more light in," he said."We had a two-month project of rebuilding the river bank, putting in coir matting, and then replanting, which has now got marginal and emergent plants coming through."There are more birds. There are more animals around. You notice the huge improvement." Chalke Valley Watercress, run by the Hitchings family for over 140 years, is one of the businesses dependent on the river clean, alkaline water, which remains at around 10 degrees, is perfect for growing the crop, and Keith Hitchings said maintaining that quality was crucial to the farm."There's a natural spring water that rises here, up to 5 million gallons a day," he said."The nutrients are actually naturally in the chalk, which is then carried into the water. That's what the watercress lives off of."It's perfectly clean if we do bacterial testing on it; the quality is absolutely fantastic."
