A UNIQUE partnership has made it easier for salmon and sea trout to migrate up some of Dorset's best known rivers.

The Environment Agency, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Piddle and West Dorset Fisheries Association, and the Friends of Rivers Group have worked together to remove man-made obstacles such as hatches and weirs.

The Rivers Frome, Piddle, Asker and Brit have been affected by the positive changes, which have allowed fish to swim upstream to spawning grounds.

It is hoped the changes will help other species including eels and coarse fish.

Jim Flory, from the Environment Agency, said: "It has been a real success with each organization playing a specific role. None of us could have achieved the work on our own.

"We’ve shared expertise, experience and costs to remove these barriers to fish passage. It’s an excellent example of partnership working."

Charles Dutton, chairman of the Frome, Piddle and West Dorset Fisheries Association, said: "We’ve removed 10 significant obstacles that were stopping fish moving upstream. The work has made a real difference to these rivers."

The improvements included a number of simple solutions that only took days to install. One example of this was putting in fish passes.

The partnership held a special event at Frampton last month to celebrate the success. Representatives from each organisation showcased their work and gave people a tour of a new fish pass at Crockway House, one of the partnership's latest projects.

Barriers have been used on rivers over the past 100 years to control water levels but in some cases this has prevented migratory fish species from reaching the headwaters to spawn.

This restriction combined with other factors has led to a decline in fish numbers in some rivers.

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