Dark Arches to be inspected as part of help for river fish

Salmon and sea trout have been seen in the River Aire at Knostrop, which is just downstream of Leeds. Weirs can stop them getting further upstream to breed and are sometimes suitable for alterations which can make fish passage easier.

Workers from the Environment Agency will take a boat up the river into the Victorian vaults known locally as the Dark Arches to inspect and photograph a weir on Friday.

Fisheries officer Pete Turner said rivers had structures that stopped fish getting upstream.

He said: “Water quality in the River Aire is now good enough to sustain salmon and sea trout, but we have a legacy of structures which stop them getting upstream to breed.

“Seeing the weir close up and taking photographs will allow us to see whether it’s suitable for a fish pass and to work with partners to source funding.

“We’ve never been under the Dark Arches before, so we’re excited to get a glimpse of the engineering feat that is the underbelly of Leeds Train Station,” he added.

Rivers are the cleanest they’ve been for 20 years, but now new European Union measures have been introduced which take other factors into account, such as the potential to support wildlife and fish movement.

Migrating fish, such as salmon, sea trout and eels, are finding it difficult to get up the rivers Calder and Aire because their way is blocked by 40 weirs. The passage of fish is one of the new standards rivers have to meet to ensure the health of the river.

Specialists have started to look closely at those rivers, streams and other water bodies that do not quite make the grade.

Investigations will centre around those where it is not clear what is causing them to fail or where there is still a question around what a potential solution could be.

In Yorkshire alone, there are nearly 1,500 investigations to be done – taking in more than 5,345 kilometres of rivers.

Investigations will show where future investment needs to be made and where there are opportunities to work with others for the benefit of the environment.