A project to improve fish migration in rivers across Wales...
In August 2026, Afonydd Cymru and the six regional Welsh rivers trusts began a £2M project to remove barriers fish migration in rivers across Wales - the "Afonydd Agored" project or “Open Rivers” in English.
The need for Afonydd Agored
Barriers to migration in rivers are a significant limiting factor to healthy fish populations. Welsh rivers contain a legacy of weirs, dams, culverts, bridge structures and other artificial barriers.
Affected species include increasingly imperiled Atlantic salmon and sewin (sea trout), but also other migratory species such as lamprey, shad and eels.
In truth though, most river fish are “migratory”, even if they do not spend any of their lifecycle at sea. Species such as grayling, chub and dace also need the ability to move freely within river systems to thrive.
