Policy brief on the importance of barriers removal
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Biodiversity - Swimways
Barrier removal is the gold standard when it comes to restoring connectivity for migratory freshwater fish species. However, in several cases, removing barriers might not be feasible or desirable (e.g. existing risk of spread of invasive species). To alleviate the pressure the 1.2 million barriers fragmenting Europe’s rivers are putting on migratory fish species, when a barrier is here to stay, alternative solutions such as fishways must be explored and implemented.
Enabling freshwater fish passage is an objective supported by several legal requirements under EU environmental legislation, and an urgent necessity considering the alarming populationsdeclines. Numerous resources and tailored support are already accessible to enable barrier removals, by the Dam Removal Europe coalition or the European Open Rivers Programme, among others. Since resources helping to kickstart reflections around the implementation of fishways, where obstacles cannot and will not be fully removed, are scarce, we developed a fishway policy brief.
Fishways can alleviate the impacts of unremovable barriers and contribute to restoring connectivity along swimways. However, poor planning, design, and placement, together with insufficient admission flow, have often led to ineffective fishways, despite significant investments.
Informed by the expertise of our Trans-European Swimways Network members, this brief links the EU policy framework supporting the restoration of connectivity between riverine fish habitats with practical steps and guidance addressed to practitioners. It provides advice to select suitable fishways to effectively mitigate the impact of the obstacle and restore passage for as many migratory fish species as possible.
To learn more and let the fish go, read the full brief below.
