Low flows have made it more and more difficult for coarse fishsuch as chub and dace to make their way to their customary spawninggrounds in the Kyle.
The two main obstructions to their movement are the flat concretefloor of the river beneath the road bridge just upstream of theKyle’s confluence with the River Ouse, and the steep slope of thesmall weir a little further upstream.
The Environment Agency, in consultation with North YorkshireCounty Council and the local Internal Drainage Board, has now starteda project to install fish passes. Depending on flow conditions workshould start within the next week, and will involve placing shallowbaffles on the concrete base under the bridge to concentrate thebeck’s flow into a narrower, deeper channel and slow it down.
More baffles, in a herringbone pattern, will also be placed on theface of the weir causing the speed of flow to be reduced, which willmake it easier for the fish to swim up and over the weir.
David Lindsay, Hydrology Team Leader for the Agency, said: “We arevery happy to look at the problems of fish passage in carrying outour water resources duties and wherever possible try and rectifythem.
“This scheme will greatly improve fish access to the Kyle and willopen up over 5km of potential spawning grounds. It will also allowsmaller fish to escape from the Ouse in times of high flow. As aresult of all this, more eggs will be laid and the young fish willhave a greater chance of survival.
“This will do much to help improve natural fish stocks in the mainriver. The scheme will also benefit the general ecology of therivers, which are of significant conservation importance.”
