FUNDACIÓN NATURALEZA Y HOMBRE

Atlantic salmon is a large fish that can reach 1,50 meters in length and weigh 45 kilos in Europe. It is an anadromous species that runs rivers to reproduce in well-oxygenated and cold waters. Going up river occurs during the months of October and August and ends with the maturation of the gonads. During salmon life it experiences different morphotypes to which different names will be assigned.

This species linked to the sea and the river throughout their lifetime is subject to different threats. The most relevants are overfishing both on the high seas and in rivers, the artificial channeling of the river course and the presence of dams and obstacles that prevent the access of the salmon to the breeding grounds or areas of reproduction and the reduction of the riverside forests by the implantation of human activities along the river.

Salmon is a species that is present in the Miera river, however the presence of impassable obstacles as dams, that adult fish can not overtake by jumping, prevents species of reproducing in the river, which can lead to the disappearance of the Atlantic Salmon of the Miera River.

The LIFE Miera project aims to eliminate the dams or azudes that prevent the river from coming back to the Atlantic salmon upstream from the village of Liérganes located in the middle course of the Miera river. Although there are other hydraulic works on the river Miera, there are three waterfalls that represent a serious obstacle for the migration of salmon: the dam of Revolvo, the dam of Arral or Las Monjas and the dam of Rubalcaba, all situated in Liérganes village. The installation of scales or construction to overpassing these dams, with the collaboration of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Cantábrico, will finally create a permeable habitat for salmon.

Related actions: A3, A4, C8, D1 and E2.