Seventy new river barriers found and 70,000 more mapped

Big River Watch uncovers river barriers

Participants in The Rivers Trust’s spring Big River Watch have identified 70 previously unknown river barriers, bringing the total discovered through the citizen science campaign to more than 100.

The findings emerged from a record number of participants in the April 2026 survey. The data is being shared with local Rivers Trusts for verification and upload to the River Obstacles Database, which is used by conservation groups to direct removal work.

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Barriers linked to poor river health

In England alone, 674 rivers failed to achieve good ecological status in 2023 due to barriers to fish migration, the Trust says. Barriers are cited as a driving factor in the decline of freshwater fish species at risk of extinction in the UK, including Atlantic salmon.

Rory MacGregor, senior technical analyst at The Rivers Trust, said: “Reenabling fish to migrate and breed as they would have throughout history is crucial to recovering endangered fish populations. Thanks to the fantastic engagement with Big River Watch this spring by citizen scientists across the UK and Ireland, we are that much closer to removing the barriers to fish migration from our rivers.”

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WildFish maps more than 70,000 barriers

The Trust’s progress comes as WildFish launches a new database recording more than 70,000 man-made barriers across the UK – one for every 2.5km of waterway. WildFish’s data analyst Daniel Nixon said: “While the number of barriers is overwhelming, there is also real hope: when unnecessary barriers are removed, rivers typically respond quickly, with river flow restoring and fish returning to previously inaccessible reaches.”