Esk Pearl Mussel and Salmon Recovery Project

To save the freshwater pearl mussel from extinction and to halt the decline of salmon populations by enhancing the river Esk habitat. The fresh water pearl mussel is dependent on the presence of salmonid fish as hosts for its larvae.
The principle issue is the excess levels of silt entering the river, which choke the gravel bed reducing oxygen levels which are crucial for juvenile pearl mussels and salmonids. The project will address this through bank stabilisation methods to reduce siltation; provision of a significant quantity of riparian fencing with the aim of fencing the majority of watercourses; introduction of stock watering points and creation of re- introduction points for juvenile mussels.