Posted on November 20, 2016
Thank you to everyone who voted for our application for funding to the Aviva Community Fund to by-pass a huge weir on the River Goyt. Our final score was 4,932 votes.
We have now reached the final stage when the project will be assessed by the Aviva Community Fund judges panel.
We will know whether or not we have been successful on 10 January.
Posted on November 15, 2016
We have just had drawn to our attention, a vacancy for a funded 4-year PhD position at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) on density-dependence in juvenile salmonids in river environments. Sounds really interesting! We'll be keeping tabs on that research.
Anyway, the details of the project are available to download, here
Posted on November 15, 2016
Our Conservation Officer in the farthest north, Gareth Pedley, recently ran a two day workshop on bank protection and habitat improvement on the River Derwent in Cumbria; this was on behalf of the Derwent riparian owners and the Environment Agency.
The days were well attended by staff from organisations like Natural England and the rivers trusts, and there was considerable interest as well from local individuals.
Overall, the workshop was very productive and we’d like to thank everyone who turned up and got stuck in, particularly the EA and National Trust staff who sourced materials and provided technical support.
Posted on November 10, 2016
Recent work to rehabilitate Eastburn Beck (River Aire, Yorkshire), led by one of our northern Conservation Officers, Jonny Grey, and in partnership with the Environment Agency, has had a fair bit of coverage via these news pages, via the WTT blog, and via social media.
It has also received some fabulous coverage in the mainstream media, via The Yorkshire Post Saturday magazine and even beyond the borders of that great county, nationally via The I, courtesy of our talented writer chum, Andrew Griffiths. Jonny spent a great day with Andrew and with renowned Yorkshire fly-fishing guide, Stuart Minnikin, who made his first forays into fishing on Eastburn Beck.
If you missed either of those articles, we have permission from the Yorkshire Post to make the PDF available, here.
Posted on November 03, 2016
Great job opportunity in the fisheries world, as a Project Officer with the Fishmongers Company in London. The role will involve support for policy-work, developing partnerships and networks, convening and managing of events and overseeing Company funded projects.
Closing date for applications is 18 November 2016, with further information available from Cynthia Baddoo at the Fishmongers Company: cynthia.baddoo@fishhall.org.uk
Projects Officer advert and job description.
Posted on October 25, 2016
As part of a series of projects funded by Yorkshire Water, WTT Conservation Officer Jonny Grey has been working with members of the Bingley Angling Club to improve the habitat on two tributaries of the River Aire near Keighley in Yorkshire.
There were lots of extra helping hands including volunteers from other fishing clubs, the S&TA and non-anglers from Computashare.
Click here for more information.
Posted on October 21, 2016
VOTNG CLOSES 18 NOVEMBER!
The Wild Trout Trust and the Mersey Basin Rivers Trust are hoping to win £22,000 of funding to pay for creating a by-pass around a big weir on the River Goyt in Lancashire. This weir is currently a huge barrier to fish migration and by-passing it will make a big difference to trout, eels and salmon in the river. To win this money, we need as many people to vote for us as possible.
You will need to register but it takes just a couple of minutes. Full details of the project and voting are here
Posted on October 19, 2016
Over 100 guests attended a Wild Trout Trust evening at the Savile Club in Mayfair yesterday evening to present the 2016 awards for the best river habitat conservation projects. The evening was introduced by WTT Chairman, David Fraser and Director, Shaun Leonard, with the awards presented by Yvette De Garis of Thames Water, who generously sponsor the Conservation Awards.
The Conservation Awards recognise and encourage excellence in the management and conservation of wild trout habitat, celebrating the efforts, skills and ingenuity of projects carried out both by professionals and by grass roots voluntary organisations.
The Wild Trout Hero Award recognises an individual who has made a significant difference to the future of the UK’s favourite fish – the wild brown trout.
Posted on October 17, 2016
Gareth Pedley will be running another Practical Demostration Day in Yorkshire as part of the series of events sponsored by Yorkshire Water. The day will be run in conjunction with our chums at Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, on 26th October.
The site is Skeeby Beck, a tributary of the Swale. All the details are in the attachment, here.
Posted on October 13, 2016
The latest Riverfly Partnership newsletter is here.
It includes important guidance on invertebrate sampling during the trout and salmon spawning season.
Posted on October 10, 2016
As part of the river rehabilitation work supported by Yorkshire Water, there will be two demonstration days led by Jon Grey at the National Trust property at East Riddlesden Hall.
Two small tributaries join the Aire within the boundaries of the property: one is completely overwhelmed in willow scrub while the other is completely exposed and has been subject to livestock grazing.
The aim is to rehabilitate both to maximise spawning and juvenile habitat potential using simple techniques that conform to exemptions under the new environmental permitting regulations. These are the sort of low-cost approaches that anglers or other groups could easily undertake during work parties on their own waters.
Posted on October 05, 2016
Weirs are a problem for both resident trout and sea trout as they act as barriers for them to migrate upstream to spawn and downstream to go to sea or find new territories as they grow to adult size. Weirs also disrupt the way that sediment would naturally be eroded and deposited in a river, creating pools of sediment above the weir and excessive erosion below. For more on the impacts of weirs, click here.
Projects that re-connect rivers fragmented by weirs and other barriers is a core part of the WTT’s work. Wherever practical, the preferred solution is to remove the weir or make a 'notch' to reduce the height and concentrate flow, rather than install (often expensive) fish passes.
Here are a three of examples of WTT projects that have removed weirs or notched weirs in August and September 2016. One is a small project on the River Meon in Hampshire delivered by Andy Thomas (details below).
Posted on October 03, 2016
A new report published by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) UK identifies the importance of river restoration for biodiversity.
It recognises that:
'Historically, the conservation movement has paid relatively little attention to rivers. Various types of wetland are very well represented in protected areas, but rivers themselves are hard to conserve in this way, not least because they are often the focus of so much human activity. Yet, rivers are of huge importance for the biodiversity they hold, and the ecosystem services they deliver'.
Posted on October 03, 2016
The EA are looking for two people to lead the fish monitoring programme across Sussex and Hampshire. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Environment Agency for someone who has experience in electric-fishing, fish identification and number-crunching. The vacancies are for 12 months.
Details are here. The post reference is 2944, Environmental Monitoring Office
Posted on September 19, 2016
Congratulations to WTT Trout in the Town Programme Manager, Dr Paul Gaskell and the partnership who delivered the Porter Brook Pocket Park Project – it has just won the prestigious 2016 Canal & Rivers Trust award for "Contribution to the Built Environment".
This is a project that we hope will inspire others to free their urban rivers from culverts and create a three-fold ‘win’:
– a win for the river and its wildlife,
– a win for the local residents who have a pocket park with a living stream to enjoy,
– a win for flood defence as the design incorporates flood storage for a spatey river
Paul will use the considerable experience gained on this project to help urban ‘Trout in the Town’ groups plan and deliver similar daylighting projects.
