In October 2012 we built a fish pass just upstream of the bridge between Kennet Place and Town Mill in Marlborough to enable fish to swim up and down the river and repopulate the river towards Manton, Clatford, West Overton and above. It was operating in time for the winter spawning season.
What is a fish pass?
A fish pass is a way to make it easy for fish to swim up and down the river. At Town Mill the existing weir, which had a drop of more than a metre, will be replaced with a series of 3 pools and steps. The structure will be built of oak and concrete. The photograph is an example of a typical pool type fish pass. Each step is low enough for a fish to be able to swim over.
Why was it needed?
In 2011/12 the river upstream from Marlborough dried up completely and thousands of fish died as a result. Now the river has water in it again the new fish pass will let fish swim upstream to repopulate the river towards Manton, Clatford, West Overton and above. Further information and diagram.
