River Severn fish stock levels at worrying level, says Environment Agency

It's that time of year when eagle eyed visitors to Shrewsbury's weir will see the salmon leaping.

But this year, due to the heavy rain that has fallen on Shropshire and Wales, the water levels on the River Severn are high enough to allow the mighty fish to swim over the weir and find the fish pass easily and make their way to spawning grounds further upstream.

However, it may also be that the quantity of fish seen in previous years is just not there this year.

Staff at the Environment Agency are extremely concerned with the level of stock returning to rivers across the region this year.

Chris Bainger from the Environment Agency said: "This week of the year is usually the peak time for spotting salmon leaping.

"They were definitely leaping this time last year when there was a very low flow of water.

"This year there is a lot more water which means they have been able to swim over the weir and also hug the sides to find the fish pass. If we were stood at the weir we would be able to see how powerful the water is at the moment.

"This does not mean there are just as many fish as in previous years however. We are extremely concerned about the number of returning salmon. Stocks are relatively low and there are lots of factors for this including conditions in the oceans and climate change.

"From a local perspective we are really concerned and we are working with partners such as Shropshire Wildlife Trust. We have put in new fish passes and dismantled weirs which are barriers to returning salmon. We have also passed emergency by-laws to protect salmon with anglers asking them to return the fish to the water. We are hoping to approach this from many angles.

"One of the major problems is that in 2015 we had very low flows and a very warm winter. This meant that the survival of the juveniles was very low and they are now returning back to us as adults."