Stunning new videos have shown 27 different species of fish spotted in the River Severn alongside a family of otters.

The footage was recorded at Diglis Fish Pass which was built in Worcester as part of the Unlocking the Severn project.

The scheme aimed to assist marine populations in navigating Victorian-built wears during migrations upstream to spawn.

 

 

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The Diglis Fish Pass, opposite a Severn Trent water treatment plant, enables visitors to witness underwater life through an underground viewing gallery.

Beyond facilitating fish migration, including that of the endangered twaite shad, project leaders of the Severn Rivers Trust and the Canal & River Trust have discovered an array of fish species through underwater cameras, including pike, salmon, bream, carp, trout, chub, barbel and perch.

Visitors in the past two years have also observed a family of otters via the underwater gallery.

Worcester News: Diglis Fish Pass was built in Worcester as part of the Unlocking the Severn Project

Alice Fallon, from the Severn Rivers Trust charity, said: "People can go down and stand in the chamber and see fish swimming past the window - a very exciting and unique experience.

"Diglis Fish Pass been great for public engagement as well. We run school visits and public open days, so people can actually come in and see the site for themselves and hopefully see the fish."

The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the European Union LIFE Programme funded the project, which constructed four fish passes from Worcester to Stourport.

Worcester News: The fish pass was built to help marine populations navigate Victorian-built weirs during travels

Ms Fallon called it "an epic feat of engineering".

The Canal & River Trust’s Corinne Spiller added: "Community engagement has also been a vital part of the project and its legacy, and we are proud to have welcomed over 15,000 visitors to our new visitor sites at Diglis in Worcester, to learn more about the amazing fish in our River Severn.”

Gareth Mead, team manager of Severn Trent’s River Rangers said: "Improving river health is a priority for Severn Trent, which is why we were delighted to help even with site access for this project.

Worcester News: A family of otters have been spotted swimming through the fish pass

“We take our responsibilities towards river health very seriously and we’re delivering an industry-leading plan that includes bold commitments, such as by 2030 we will cause no harm from our storm overflow operations."