Sprotbrough And Warmwsworth Fish And Eel Pass - Sprotbrough, UK - Fish Ladders on Waymarking.com

Over the centuries people have transformed the River Don. From being a natural river teeming with fish and wildlife it became polluted, lifeless and heavily engineered. The river was altered by locks and weirs to power industry or to provide deep water for boat traffic carrying coal, lime and other products. These weirs prevented the free movement of fish, led to the loss of the river's salmon and sea trout and contributed to the decline of its coarse fish populations. In recent years, attitudes have changed and the river is much improved due to investment by the water companies and regulation by the Environment Agency. Industry is now cleaner and there is less pollution in the river. Cleaner water means that wildlife has returned. River restoration work - such as this fish pass - is securing an environment in which creatures such as otter, kingfisher, heron and fish can thrive. People are enjoying their rivers once more. Rivers and their wildlife are now considered as resources to be cherished and looked after for future generations.

All fish need to be able to move freely up and down rivers to find the best places to feed, breed and shelter. Sprotbrough weir is too big for fish to leap or swim over except when the river is high. With the installation of the fish and eel pass at Sprotbrough weir, fish and eels now have access to the higher reaches of the river. Our fish pass provides a route around the weir for coarse fish, salmon and sea trout. Metal baffles on the bottom slow the water allowing fish to swim upstream and a deep pool halfway up gives the fish a place to rest. In addition, a separate channel (under the green mesh) allows eels to wriggle upstream through shallow water trickling between plastic studs. This fish and eel pass opened in 2014 and is one of many planned for the River Don. Together, they will restore migration routes for all fish species, and allow salmon and sea trout to return to our river.