Proposed legislation to enable removal of barriers and installation of fish passes on UK rivers

For many years one of the major unresolved Water Framework Directive issues relating to physical obstructions in UK rivers looks set to be resolved.

This month the Government is setting out proposed new legislation to remove obstructions or build fish passes to provide a route around or through these hurdles. These passes already exist on some rivers across the country, as do protective screens to stop fish getting trapped in water intakes. New legislation to facilitate fish passage could help recover stocks of species like salmon, which are born in our rivers and swim to the Atlantic to mature for up to three years before returning to the same river to spawn.