News from the Environment Agency:

Work to build a new fish pass on the River Derwent near Swalwell in Gateshead will start on Monday, January 16.

The fish pass in Derwent Walk Country Park will allow salmon, sea trout and eels to swim past an impassable weir which has kept spawning fish out of the river since the industrial revolution.

The fish pass will be a single channel with two 'resting pools' to allow fish using the pass to rest and regain their energy before completing their upstream journey. An eel pass will also be incorporated into the design, to allow young eels returning from their spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea to enter the Derwent.

The joint-funded partnership project between the Environment Agency and Gateshead Borough Council will also include the potential for a hydropower scheme in the future, should funds become available.

Jon Shelley, project manager for the Environment Agency, said, “We want to improve rivers for people to enjoy. The fish pass at Derwenthaugh will allow salmon, sea trout and eels to swim up the river to spawn for the first time in over 300 years.

“As well as improving the ecology of the river, this will bring affordable salmon and sea trout fishing within easy access of the residents of Newcastle and Gateshead.”

The River Derwent upstream of the weir currently achieves ‘moderate’ ecological standards under the Water Framework Directive - EU legislation governing the water quality in rivers. By enabling fish to pass upstream, the fish pass is expected to improve the river to ‘good’, which is a target of the directive.

The River Derwent is at the centre of the Derwent Walk Country Park - home to a wide variety of wildlife, including deer, otter and the famous recently re-introduced red kites.

The whole area near the weir was formerly a coke works. The site was the subject of a large clean-up project by Gateshead Borough Council in the 1990s, but some historic contamination from the coking industry still remains below the weir.

Specialist contractor, Lumsden and Carroll, has been employed to build the fish pass without harming the environment. They will start by building a dam around the section of weir to keep the river away from the historic contamination. Any water that does get inside the dam will be pumped out and treated to remove any pollution, before being returned to the river.

Gateshead Council cabinet member for transport and environment councillor John McElroy said: “The River Derwent was once at the heart of an industrial and heavily polluted landscape, but the transformation since is nothing short of amazing.

“This fish pass represents the latest major improvement in the Derwent Valley, an area now known more for its wildlife than its industrial past. I’m sure that the newly accessible upstream stretches of the Derwent will provide a fantastic home for a variety of new fish species.”

Work to build the fish pass is expected to take around 16 weeks to complete.

can anyone explain me why they cannot, just destroy the dam, remove some big stones, and let the water run over it? instead of making fish passes

Haha, Wise words! I would imagine its down to who's funding (sorry I meant, who's being funded?!?) You wouldn't need a Project Manager to instruct a JCB operator to destroy the dam over a couple of days.

I don't suppose it would even matter how the dam was removed as our rivers have, and are still, being formed by nature - remove the dam and let it happen naturally.

The point about the eels is just a red herring. Having grown up on the Tyne at Wylam I've witnessed elvers (they are the ones that count) crawling up the moss on the wear at the bridge pool even during very low water (1976). We used to collect them just by picking them up with our hands off the almost dry wear, then, regrettably put them in a jam jar with a few small dace, leave them in the sun for a few days and use the stinking dace to catch BIG eels! I fear the plight of the eels is just an excuse to justify the project - they are afforded more current protection than the salmon/sea trout. If the elvers are present, no dam will present a problem to them (maybe there is some higher level funding?!?)

The Derwent is one of the nicest streams in the North East, just destroy the dam and let nature run the course it sees fit... If the migratory fish reestablish themselves cool, if they don't, that's just nature...

dekakuna, I don`t really understand your answer to my question( about the funding and being funded???), can you say it again but then in different words please, as english is not my first language .

Sorry Bram, It's obviously a lost in translation thing. I was merely endorsing your thoughts, i.e. just remove the dam, dam. We don't need to spend money on unimportant roles, we don't have that luxury in the current climate.

Why spend all this money employing project managers, etc. and creating a fish pass when as you say... just remove the dam. If the habitat is then conducive to salmon/sea trout (which it is) then nature will, on its own accord, repopulate the stream.

I do wonder where our money goes - I'm a fully paid up member of Dorset Wildlife Trust , along with paying council tax on two properties and the normal income tax. This is what gets me riled and why I endorsed your post. There are to many people in this world who create work or importance. They either can't negotiate a good deal or they just spend time (our money) propagating their existence?

The red kite?!? - A wonderful bird in the sky, very pretty [just like Jordan] however in reality just a scavenger. I lived just off the M40 for 2 years and you know what the biggest problem I faced? Nope you got it wrong, it wasn't the teenage thugs/working girls or the guys pushing drugs, it was the red kites. They don't hunt, they eat whats easy and that is usually what is in your rubbish bag (sorry gone a little off the topic).

The Derwent is a wonderful trout/grayling stream, maybe this is because it doesn't have a run of migratory fish? Let nature run... If it works, cool, if it doesn't cool, we will still have one of the best trout steams in the North East...

By the way Bram, I live just outside Bournemouth...

dekakuna

Lady's Steps on the Derwent is where the fish pass is going. Knowing the height and length of the weir, the idea of just JCBing it would be impractical. I'm sure you will receive the definitive answer though in due course.
If anyone was interested I'm sure I could post a series of photo images of the work in a before, during and after manner as it proceeds.

Please do!

We have two good fishing clubs operating on the Derwent so we shall be able to hear how the fishing is affected. It will be an interesting study for someone.

Colin

Abacus, what does 'JCBing' mean?

and is this project manager, a member of this forum, if so (or not) can somebody get me into contact with him?

JCBing........... using a JCB to dig up the weir, sorry it is Geordie dialect!!!!!!!

ah ok thanks, but impractical ? I really think it is possible to use the JCB , when the water is low offcourse.