£250,000 boost for Tyne improvements

Jan 10 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

WORK to improve the River Tyne will be funded by a £250,000 award as part of the second Tyne Tunnel project.

The contract to construct the tunnel was signed recently and the Tyne Rivers Trust has been given the money from the Tyne Wear Passenger Transport Authority.

The work will include a new fish pass at Hexham and other schemes to improve the Tyne for migratory fish.

Trust chairman, Andrew Davison, said: “Associated with the new tunnel were agreed safeguards that will minimise the impact on the quality of the water in the Tyne during the construction of the tunnel. Now that we have received the funding from the mitigation agreement, we can get on with practical work to help to compensate in the unlikely instance that the new tunnel works causes harm as migratory fish pass through the estuary.

“This work will have a lasting benefit for the river.”

The Trust aims to use the tunnel money to draw in larger sums from elsewhere which will help in tackling issues for the catchment and for the fishery.

Tom Hanson, chairman of the Tyne Tunnel working group, said: “The PTA contributed to the setting up of the Tyne Rivers Trust as part of the mitigation agreement and we are delighted to be able to invest in the future health of the river.

“We believe the safeguards in place for construction will minimise the risk, and can also see the immense value habitat works and a fish pass at Hexham will have in maintaining and improving the Tyne fishery.”

The construction of the pass at Hexham will allow migratory fish, including salmon, sea trout and eels, better access to their spawning grounds on the upper reaches of the North and South Tyne.

Habitat improvements in upper reaches of the river, starting with the removal of other smaller barriers to migration, will give the fish the best possible chance of spawning successfully, further protecting fish stocks.

The Trust is a registered charitable trust established in March 2005 which works to safeguard the health of the river, its tributaries and their enjoyment for future generations.

In September 2006 the Trust launched its strategic action plan for the Tyne catchment and a £2.6m fundraising campaign.

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Anglers to have say

AS THE start of the new salmon fishing season approaches next month experts are asking anglers to tell them about the main issues affecting North-East rivers.

The Environment Agency has set up an online questionnaire to collect information from anglers who fish for salmon in the rivers Coquet, Tyne and Wear.

It is part of an updating of the agency’s salmon action plans, produced in the late 1990s to help increase stocks.

The review aims to ensure the right actions for the next five years are identified, and the agency wants anglers to raise issues they feel need to be addressed.

Anglers can log on to www.environment-agency.gov.uk/regions/northeast and follow the link to Regional Issues, then Fisheries to find out more and complete the survey.

Fisheries specialist Philip Rippon said: “The returns from anglers have already shown us that the Tyne, Wear and Coquet have had high numbers of salmon over recent years, and the River Tyne also consistently records the best salmon catches in England and Wales. We do know though that there are still issues that need to be tackled. These include obstructions to the movement of fish, water quality and the effects of climate change. We’ve listed these issues in the online surveys and we’d really like anglers to share their opinions, to help us prioritise everything and identify what we can do in the future.”