How a little known fish, rare and remarkable, is driving a huge project on the River Severn.

Weirs may look dramatic and sound wonderful but, for fish, they are nothing more than a barrier, preventing progress upstream. That's why you'll see anglers, both human and heron, hanging around weirs for an easy-ish catch. One fish in particular, previously found in healthy numbers on the Severn, has suffered. It's the Twaite Shad, sleek and fast, but not fond of leaping. However, a project called Unlocking the Severn is well underway to install gigantic fish-passes at four weirs. These will allow the Twaite Shad to swim through and reach their spawning grounds in significant numbers for the first time since the Victorians installed weirs to improve navigation during the industrial revolution.

Because of Covid19, the sound-quality of this programme will be a little different: all the interviewees recorded themselves, on their phone voice-recorders, in their own homes... many thanks to each of them for persevering!

See the 'related links' box below for more info on the entire Unlocking the Severn project.

Producer/Presenter: Karen Gregor