Forge Island fish pass returns salmon to River Don

People passing by Forge Island will now be able to see the completed £620,000 Masbrough weir fish pass.

The fish freeway enables salmon to travel along a fully joined up river for the first time in 200 years so that they can get to their first available spawning grounds in the centre of Sheffield.

The ground-breaking project was brought to life by the Don Catchment Rivers Trust, Canal & River Trust, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and Rotherham Council.

Anthony Downing, Environment Agency catchment coordinator for the Don and Rother, said: “With Sheffield City Council also finishing the fish pass on Sanderson’s weir, this will open the entire migratory route from the North Sea to spawning grounds upstream of Sheffield.

“The work to open up the route has been a great partnership effort involving many organisations to enable fish passage at 18 previously unpassable weirs and hopefully we will now see a sustainable salmon population in the River Don after an absence of around 200 years.

“Not only will salmon benefit from the fish passes but many can be used by other species increasing connectivity and benefiting other wildlife in the river corridor.”

Sightings of salmon being caught in the lower River Don in the early 1990s set the wheels in motion for organisations to start talking about how to enable them to return to spawning habitat in the Pennines.

The project member organisations raised the funding in time for construction at Masbrough to be completed ahead of the upcoming Forge Island development work.

Despite losing five weeks to the weather at the beginning of the year, Bailey Contracts Ltd in conjunction with Visio Management, have persevered through deluges of rain, high waters and the lockdown, to complete the works on time and on budget.

Rachel Walker, project manager at Don Catchment Rivers Trust, said: “I can't imagine a tougher set of circumstances for building a fish pass, but we’re there now, and we are very proud that the River Don is coming back to life.  

“If there is one thing we have learnt during the lockdown, it's that people need access to the natural environment for their wellbeing. Now, we've put the pieces in place for the people of Rotherham to enjoy their river. We look forward to celebrating this with you, and communities all along the Don, as soon as we can.”

Once social distancing rules allow, there will be a community event to celebrate the opening of the fish pass, and a story telling and animation project for local school children in conjunction with Grimm & Co.