New fish pass unlocks Exmoor National Park

The improved access will support Atlantic salmon and brown trout to reach important spawning grounds. It will enable fish to pass safely up and downstream along 31km of viable habitat in the Upper Exe and River Quarme.

Completion of this fish pass is the first of the Strategic Exe Weirs (SEW) planned projects along the River Exe.

Alex Swan, the Environment Agency's Exe Catchment Coordinator, said:

Bridgetown Weir limited access to prime salmon and trout spawning habitat in the upper Exe. But 3 years of partnership working has secured open access to this expanse of fantastic habitat, helping to increase population sustainability of native fish.

The prefabricated Larinier fishway has been slotted into the existing infrastructure to save on costs and minimise disturbance to the local environment. It replaces an ineffective pass built in the 1950s.

The fish pass includes a new fish screen which will direct smolts away from the historic mill leat and into the main river via a new smolt chute during the spring/summer smolt run. This will reduce any delay and risks in their migration and improve their prospects of reaching the sea.

The smolt chute

Phil Turnbull, Fisheries Technical Officer for the Westcountry Rivers Trust and SEW project officer, said:

Every bespoke fish passage improvement we deliver through SEW will reduce the cumulative effects of the many River Exe weirs.

As SEW aims to improve access for migratory fish throughout the catchment, this is the outcome we want to achieve with all our work restoring the natural free movement of native fish.

Many organisations have contributed to and supported the new fish pass, including the Environment Agency, South West Water, Exmoor National Park, Westcountry Rivers Trust and the River Exe and Tributaries Association.