SAFETY NOTICE: Fish trap on the River Usk at Abercamlais

Natural Resources Wales is operating a fish trap on the River Usk

WARNING! Despite NRW's best efforts to signpost these fish traps, we are aware that that they may cause a hazard for paddlers at certain water levels. Please be vigilant and make a note of where the traps are located before setting off on your journey. Pass with extreme care - or better still portage if at all possible.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is now operating a rotary screw trap (RST) at Abercamlais on the River Usk.

Rotary Screw Traps (RSTs) are temporary fish traps in the river used to capture young salmon and sea trout on their journey to the sea.

These traps come in various sizes but all consist of a rotating cone-shaped drum mounted between two floating pontoons. Operation involves the positioning of each trap in the main body of the flow where the drum is lowered into the water until half submerged. Water flowing through the mouth of the drum causes it to rotate by acting on an internal vane. The same vane moves any fish which enter the drum to the rear of the RST where they are delivered into a holding box for tagging and release.

The trap will be fished only in the Spring (March to May), and then just between the hours of dusk and dawn - when it will be staffed. Warning signs will be placed upstream and on the trap itself to notify river users of their presence.

At Abercamlais, a straight section of river of around 170m lies immediately upstream and downstream of the trapping site and so give a good line-of-sight for river users. Bankside signage gives advanced notice of the structure with a shallow section upstream where paddlers can disembark (see Fig 1).

Location:

• Grid Ref: SN 95994 29168
• What3Words: ///cubs.liver.inserting

For further details, please download the NRW Information Leaflet (PDF).