Once completed, the new fish pass will open up over 38km of river to migrating fish such as salmon, sea trout and eels. The existing fish pass was added to the original weir in the 1930’s and does not help fish to pass over the weir so that many fish are unable to reach important spawning grounds upstream; one of the main reasons why the River Alyn is failing to meet new European standards.
Alan Winstone, from Environment Agency Wales said:
“Construction of this fish pass at Rossett is the latest in a programme to remove man-made barriers to migrating fish in our rivers. By opening up new spawning grounds, this fish pass will boost fish populations in the river and help the Alyn to meet tough EU directive standards.
A healthy river with a thriving fish population will also be good news for other wildlife in the area that rely on them for their survival.”
Starting work to build the new fish pass comes after a lengthy consultation with the local community, which started in 2010. Work on the new fish pass will be completed by September 2012 and it is being funded by the European Fisheries Fund and the Welsh Government as part of the ‘Salmon for Tomorrow’ project.
