Of the 19 marked Atlantic salmon, 11 have reached above the San Tiburcio dam at Doneztebe/Santesteban, and three of them have reached Elizondo in recent days. Two of them have managed to overcome the Txokoto dam of Elizondo.

The data was verified by the Department of Rural Development and the Environment of Navarra, within the LIFE IREKIBAI project, by staff of the public company Gestión Ambiental de Navarra (GAN-NIK) and the Guarderío de Medio Ambiente. The presence at the top of the Bidasoa last year has been re-checked because of the good conditions of the flow. According to the technicians, the strategy of removing barriers in the Bidasoa has allowed progress, as it has not been found in this area in the last 30 years.

The rise of salmon in the Bidasoa was already detected in 2018, when three of the 28 marked salmon arrived higher than the San Tiburcio Dam of Doneztebe, and one of them reached the Ataiz Dam, 5 kilometers from Elizondo. This year, the time of recovery has ratified these data, reversing the trend of the last decades. In fact, the construction of numerous barriers in the form of a dam between the centre and the lower area of the Bidasoa meant that salmon could not reach the upper part of the Bidasoa, as they did in remote times.

This year, the appropriate water flows for migration and the current situation of the Bidasoa have enabled a significant amount of salmon to reach the high waters. In spite of this, the Ohar dam remains a major obstacle to this migration, and other salmon are in the dam raft, which they have not yet managed to overcome.

The Government of Navarre, in cooperation with the Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation, began over 15 years ago to work to improve the situation of the Bidasoa by removing some unused prey and improving the steps in which they are being used. Currently, the Government of Navarra, through the public company GAN-NIK, together with the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, LIFE IREKIBAI Rivers opened: Participates in the project to improve the connectivity and habitats of the rivers shared by Navarre and Gipuzkoa. This project has eliminated the dams of Endarlaza, Bera and Ituren, as well as those of Arraio and Elgorriaga.

Benefits for salmon and other species

Thanks to all the efforts made in the Bidasoa, the salmon population has been improving progressively but steadily, maintaining over 400 specimens over the past 10 years. Currently, there are 409 salmon that have managed to vomit and this amount may increase, as the season has not yet ended. In addition, thanks to the steps, more salmon have been delivered to the central and upper part of the Bidasoa, enabling them to have better egg stalls and more favourable conditions for fish farming.

Until recently, due to the numerous obstacles that a salmon had to overcome in order to reach Bertiz, a small regular number of salmon, the Repaz Bridge, managed to reach the furthest part of the sea. It should be noted that in addition to salmon, all its auxiliary species, such as trout, resin, eel, rapeseed or lamprea, have been favored by the filtration work of the Bidasoa.

Exhibition on the problems of the rivers of the Cantabrian River in Pamplona and then, from 16 December, in Bertiz

On this subject, since last week, no obstacles, better! / Let the water run! You can visit the exhibition at the headquarters of the Department of Rural Development and the Environment of the Government of Navarra (c/ González Tables, 7. Pamplona). This is an exhibition on the problem of rivers on the Cantabrian side and, above all, the consequences of their fragmentation for wildlife in the Bidasoa. The exhibition is located on the ground floor of the building and can be visited until December 15.

The exhibition is part of the dissemination work of the European project LIFE IREKIBAI. The Government of Navarra participates in this project coordinated by the public company Environmental Management of Navarra GAN-NIK.

No barriers, better! / Let the water run! The exhibition consists of ten large panels representing the background and the environment of the Bidasoa River and which, with salmon as the protagonist, explains the problem and the biodiversity conservation policies being adopted by the administrations to improve our rivers. Details are also given of the measures and results achieved through the aforementioned European project LIFE IREKIBAI.

After passing through the Department, from 16 December the exhibition will be displayed in the Natural Park of the Lordship of Bertiz (Oieregi). Next year, already in February 2020, you will arrive at the Station (former Pamplona bus station) and during the whole next spring you will be able to see at different points of the Cantabrian slope of Navarre. You can visit Elizondo, Sunbilla, Lesaka, Santesteban, Leitza, Etxalar and Bera.

With this type of initiative, the European project LIFE IREKIBAI seeks to promote the awareness and participation of people, and calls for the joint effort of institutions, institutions, companies, communities and people to improve the conservation of the habitat, vegetation and fauna of the rivers.