Damn Dams?

It's estimated that Europe's rivers currently have more than 1 million barriers. These include dams and weirs. Many of these structures have been in place for more than 100 years and, at least 150,000, serve no economic purpose (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/16/record-number-of-dams-removed-from-europe-rivers-in-2021-aoe). The World Fish Migration Foundation is concerned about the negative effects of river barriers. These riverine barriers block essential fish migration routes (often between fresh and salt waters). This leads to a loss of spawning sites, as well as reduced numbers of eel, salmon, sturgeon and trout. Predators of these fish, such as otters and ospreys, also decline, compromising biodiversity. The World Fish Migration Foundation helped produce the Dam Removal Europe report. As a consequence, in 2021, almost 240 riverine barriers were removed across 17 European countries. Spain was the most active performer in this respect, destroying more than 100 dams and weirs. Careful removal of river barriers will increase the health of rivers and could reduce potential flooding risk. Let the fish roam free!