High number of barriers in Europe’s rivers could hinder fish migration

The density of barriers in European rivers is much higher than indicated by available databases - up to one barrier in every kilometre of river, according to a new study. Information - For the first time, scientists are now inviting citizens to help in updating information about these barriers with a newly-developed smartphone app. A European initiative of scientists, hydropower and non-profit organisations called AMBER (Adaptive Management of Barriers in European Rivers) is exploring new solutions for river connectivity across the continent. River barriers Scientists working for the project, including experts in Durham University's department of Department of Biosciences , collected all available data on river barriers from across Europe, and then validated this data by going out into the field to survey a total of 1,000km of actual river. The researchers found that the number of barriers recorded in existing databases only amounted to three per cent of the total number of river barriers in Europe. Based on their first observations, they estimated an average ofone barrier per kilometre of river. Researchers say there are hundreds of thousands of man-made barriers, scattered across Europe's rivers, many of which are completely obsolete.