Volunteers net and carry salmon over River Sid weir as calls grow for fix.
Campaigners in east Devon are calling for changes to the School Weir on the River Sid, arguing that the barrier is preventing Atlantic salmon from reaching upstream spawning habitat and has pushed the species to what they describe as “functionally extinct” levels in the catchment, according to the BBC.
The Westcountry Rivers Trust said the weir is too high for fish to pass, leaving salmon present only in very small numbers. Hannah Parvin of the trust said: “Salmon are functionally extinct from this catchment because of the weir.”
Parvin said the river would otherwise provide suitable conditions for salmon and other migratory species to spawn and rear juveniles, adding that salmon are declining nationally and are considered endangered in the UK. “Salmon are declining across the UK, they’re an endangered species in the UK, so if we can do something on this river to help increase their population that’s always going to be a positive,” she said.
Local volunteers with the River Sid Catchment Group have been assisting migration by netting salmon and carrying them over the weir. Charles Sinclair of the group said surveys have identified juvenile salmon in the river, but adults are unable to clear the structure. “We’ve seen them jumping but they just can’t get over the weir, and then they’re stuck here,” he said.
The Environment Agency said it is considering measures to improve fish passage. Jessica Ring of the agency said: “We are thinking of a sort of nature-like fishway, which would be a sloping ramp up to the weir crest which will allow multiple species of fish to be able to access the upper river potentially with a lowering of the weir as well alongside that.”
