Barriers and solutions: raising public awareness of fish migration in the rivers around the North Sea—a Living North Sea (LNS) project special issue

Abstract

Today there is considerable published research about fish habitat and fish migration in the scientific literature, but how many of us who see and use our streams and rivers every day for recreational purposes such as fishing and canoeing really know very much about the fish that live in our streams and rivers and the lifecycle of these different fish species on their migratory routes from sea to source? In 2009, an Interreg IVB-funded North Sea Region project with 15 European partners set about tackling this lack of knowledge and understanding through a project called the Living North Sea (LNS). The Living North Sea (LNS) project (www.living-north-sea.eu) sought to identify key issues concerning fish migration, barriers and the different solutions that could be used to reconnect the rivers and deltas around the North Sea Region (Fig. 1). The project addressed knowledge gaps about the fish populations that depend on free movement between the North Sea and freshwater systems; considered innovative fish migration measures; collaborated with local water management authorities and policy makers; and created greater public awareness about the North Sea. Three essential aspects concerning the management of migratory fish were also important to this project: the fish migration routes; threats such as man-made barriers; how to influence future environmental policy at a regional, national and international level; and finding new ways to inform, educate and engage the general public. Barriers to fish migration