Citizen scientists have uncovered 70 previously unidentified river barriers to fish migration.
A record number of participants were involved in this year’s Big River Watch, with over 5,000 people venturing out in late April, each spending 15 minutes by a river or stream and recording their observations.
The findings bring the total number of barriers identified since the Rivers Trust campaign began to over 100.
Work is now underway with river conservation groups to verify and log the barriers, before removing them or installing fish passes.
Rory MacGregor of The Rivers Trust highlighted the significance of the work: “The results show just how important citizen science is in tackling the many issues our rivers – and the species that depend on them – are facing.
“Enabling fish to migrate and breed as they would have throughout history is crucial to recovering endangered fish populations.”
