pHish
- Powys Habitat Improvement Scheme
After a year of preparation, pHish was given the go ahead on 1st October 2002. This was the largest venture the Foundation had ever undertaken and extended our activities into a number of new areas. Funding was granted under the Wales ERDF Objective 2 Priority 2 Measure 1 programme and the overall budget was £1.5 million. The overall aim was to improve our fishery in a way that is both long lasting and permanent - sustainable is the word of the moment. It was intrinsic to the bid that our fishery work delivers actual benefits to Powys rural economy by way of employment and other targets. Our interpretation of the programme document resulted in a scheme that sought to solve the significant river problems in the upper Wye.
An extension to pHish has been granted for 2006 to end early 2008. The total budget is now at £2.1 million and this extension will enable us to cover more of the tasks originally envisaged.
The project had four main sections: firstly to remedy the effects of acid rain in the extreme upper Wye and Irfon catchments; secondly to continue the ongoing restoration of the habitat in the tributaries; thirdly to engage the local community and farmers to appreciate the value of the river and finally to generate meaningful economic benefits to the local economy from the improvements realised by this project and previous work.
Acid Water Treatment
With 17% of the productive catchment affected by the effects of acidification (62km plus tributaries), and that area having once produced the spring run salmon for which the Wye was famous, the incentive to include a section in the project to correct this problem in the upper Irfon and Wye was enormous. The sheer scale involved made it a daunting task. Publication of the Scoping Study For Acid Waters in Wales Strategy in 2000 was very timely indeed.
An enormous amount of research had already gone into acid waters in Wales. Several projects to correct the problem had met with degrees of success including direct dosing schemes on the Twyi and Hafren. The Wye has no comparable impoundments in which to use dosers so it was fortunate that Professor Steve Ormerod and colleagues published a long-term survey of work carried out in the 80s. When acidification first appeared, a series of controlled experiments were carried out to find an effective way of curing the problem. A review of this work in 2001 clearly demonstrated that liming the actual hydrological source of a stream (the uppermost part from which a stream arises) not only provided the right neutralising effect, but also that the benefit lasts for a decade or more. Hydrological Source Liming (is the most cost effective and least invasive of the various techniques.
This was a novel approach to an previously insurmountable problem so it was vital that we recorded all the successes and failures of the project to learn and improve the methodology. For this reason the project started with a comprehensive and wide-ranging survey of the water quality, chemistry and biology of the upper Wye and Irfon and their tributaries and sub tributaries.
As with all river work,
the extent of consents required was very time consuming. However, the
liming process started in the summer of 2003. Hydrological sources of the
Upper Wye system were the first to be limed including the Tarenig, Bidno,
Troed Yr Escair and other smaller upper Wye tributaries. After the analysis
of this work the Upper Irfon was then treated. The work in the upper Irfon
will be completed in 2007.
Habitat and Access work
pHISH coppiced, fenced and repaired another 40km of stream to add to the 35km already completed in previous projects. By the end of the project Louis and his teams had completed the task on the Hafrena, Lynfi Dulas, Felindre, Tregoed, Duhonw, Nant Gwyn, Nantmel Dulas, Irfon, Marteg, Cammarch, Cnyffiad and Hirnant. A further six blocking weirs have been removed and a fish pass built.
A large weir on the Crysan, an upper Wye tributary, before
and after.
The weir on upper Wye at Pant Mawr is another that has been removed during pHish.
Marketing
The pHish project saw the origins of the Foundation's 'Passport' scheme, an initiative to revitalise angling tourism on the back of the physical improvements being made to the fisheries. Once an important local income source, the upper Wye had suffered a drop in angling business in recent decades. The Passport scheme has begun to turn this around. In addition, it also brings in revenue to newly established wild trout fisheries of the tributaries, created through the Foundation's habitat work, giving farmers and landowners an economic incentive to look after these important rivers.
In
2003, the first 'Upper Wye Passport' was published. Since then the scheme
has proved enormously popular with close to exponential growth rates experienced
in the first 4 years. In 2005 the scheme was expanded to incorporate the
Usk and is on track to generate over £90,000 this year in fishery income
alone (over £ 0.75 million to the local economy). Attracting visitors
from all over the UK and from abroad means that many local businesses (accommodation
providers, tackle shops, fishing guides etc) also benefit from the scheme.
Giving rivers an economic value is a vital part of ensuring their future
health. It provides the investment and income to protect and enhance the
rivers, creating a truly 'sustainable' system.
For more information on the fishing available through the Foundation please see the 'Passport to the rivers' section.
pHish - Partners
Environment Agency Wales
Countryside Council for Wales
Forestry Commission
University of Wales, Cardiff
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor
Country Landowners Association
Wales Tourist Board
Wildlife Trusts
