Breaking Barriers: the new Bezza Brook Fish Pass
Our latest fish passage project is almost complete! Working alongside our contractor, Wade Group, Ribble Rivers Trust’s river conservation specialists have been working on Bezza Brook fish pass, the latest in a long line of weir removals and fish passes. For this project, the tidal zone of the Ribble catchment is the focus, ensuring migratory fish species can utilise the river from the very first parts of their journey- from sea, to estuary, to river.
The Bezza Brook Fish Pass
Bezza Brook, a tributary of the River Ribble, originates west of Balderstone through the confluence of Wilcock Brook and Mellow Brook. It flows southwest before joining the main stem of the Ribble. However, a river-blocking weir on Bezza Brook is causing significant issues for migratory fish. This weir acts as a partial barrier for eels, salmon, and trout and a complete barrier for smelt.
Due to the weir’s proximity to infrastructure, buildings, and a bridge, it cannot be removed. Additionally, while there is an existing fish passage, its design is outdated, and not all species can use it. Therefore, Ribble Rivers Trust is creating an “all-species” fish pass, designed to allow free migration up and over the weir for all species.
The Bezza Brook Fish Pass will not only support migratory species like eels, salmon, and trout but also improve habitat connectivity for local fish species such as chub, roach, and dace. While these species may not migrate in the same way, they still rely on accessible river habitats for their survival and reproduction.
Is Fish Passage Really That Important?
Since 2008, Ribble Rivers Trust has been collecting catchment-scale data on fish, invertebrates, and habitat. This data reveals a continuous decline in eels, trout, and salmon, with smelt almost completely absent. Thanks in part to our work, the Ribble Estuary was designated a Marine Conservation Zone in 2019 due to these declines, with eels classified as critically endangered and salmon added to the endangered list in August 2023. Without action, the survival of these species is at serious risk.
Creating, connecting, and improving habitats, particularly to support juvenile fish and eels, is essential for their conservation. Research shows that habitat loss and lack of access to habitat are critical issues affecting all these species. For eels, the drainage of wetlands and artificial barriers to migration are particularly harmful.
The data collected by Ribble Rivers Trust identifies trends across the Ribble sub-catchments and specific locations showing significant declines. These areas are targeted for interventions under the Ribble Revival: Room for Rivers programme, combining data from the Environment Agency, Natural England, and others. GIS modelling of environmental variables and community needs, such as flood risk reduction, indicates that extreme weather events driven by climate change are a primary cause of species decline. This includes periods of flash flooding, drought, and unseasonal extreme weather.
What Else Are You Doing to Improve Fish Passage?
The Bezza Brook fish pass is part of the larger “Ribble Revival: Room for Rivers” programme, funded by Defra and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This multi-million-pound initiative delivers targeted works aimed at protecting nationally important wildlife species.
Ribble Rivers Trust and our team of volunteers have identified ongoing declines in smelt, eels, salmon, and trout. Human activities damaging the four pillars of catchment health—water quality, water quantity, habitat quality, and habitat connectivity—are the primary culprits. The projects under this programme address these issues by implementing Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) that slow water flow, improve water quality, and reduce flood risk for local communities.
The programme includes:
- Two stream deculverting projects
- Three fish passage projects
- Two river channel improvement projects
- One log jam and leaky dam project
- Four new wetlands
- One channel rewiggle
If you’d like to support work like this, you can join us for just £3 a month. As a small charity, we guarantee that every penny goes toward vital resources needed to protect and improve the Ribble catchment.
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