Tyne Rivers Trust Improving fish passage One piece of recent news that should excite the ecologists as well as the anglers: the proposed new fish pass at Hexham Bridge has just received planning permission from the authorities. Hexham Bridge footings have become a major obstruction to fish movement because the river is ‘reprofiling’ itself, following the extraction of over a million tonnes of gravel downstream of Hexham between the 1890s and the 1970s. The drop between the bridge apron and the riverbed has therefore increased substantially, and this is why the existing fish pass in the middle of the apron no longer functions at most flows. This is now the most significant barrier to fish movement on the main Tyne, and if migratory fish (including salmon, sea trout and
eel) encounter difficulties in moving upstream to spawn, there is an impact on their populations – with an associated impact on river ecology as well as angling and tourism in the region. The fish pass will be paid for by public funds (Tyne & Wear Integrated Transport Authority) as a result of our campaign for mitigation for the second Tyne Tunnel. Our next step will be to tender for the construction work.
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