Salmon centre set to finally reopen after pandemic
ACENTRE which rears 300,000 young salmon each year to stock the River Tyne is to reopen to the public after two years of closure.
And there is a rare job opportunity at the Environment Agency’s Kielder Salmon Centre in Northumberland.
The visitor centre, which underwent a £100,000 refurbishment and was officially opened by the Prince of Wales in September 2018, closed for the winter in 2019 and hasn’t reopened since due to coronavirus restrictions.
What is the largest conservation salmon hatchery in England and Wales will now reopen for the summer on May 27 and entry is free.
The interactive experience allows visitors to get up close with salmon and critically endangered freshwater pearl mussels, and helps people understand the world that lies below the surface of the river.
It includes a natural North East river environment aquarium showcasing salmon and other local river species, videos revealing the behind the scenes work at the centre.
The centre also rears fresh waterpearl mussels, one of the UK’s most endangered species, which can be seen in the centre’s outdoor river system.
On show is the pearl mussels’ artificial stream and the trout that are a vital part of the mussels’ life cycle.
The new job will support centre manager Richard Bond and pearl mussel specialist Ben Strachan.
The facilities management assistant post includes occasionally helping with the rearing of salmon, trout, and pearl mussels. No prior experience of fish husbandry is required.
Richard Bond, centre manager for 17 years, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming people back to the visitor centre.
“It gives a fascinating insight into our work to protect this incredible, iconic fish, and explain the innovative work to hand rear the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, which is vital to our river systems.
“It’s rare that job opportunities at the Salmon Centre arise and we’re looking for a new member of our team to help us keep it a great and safe place to work. This role is unique and we are looking for someone who relishes the opportunity to get stuck into lots of different activities.”
The job advert is live until May 24. The centre will be open daily between 10am-4pm until September 30. It can be found at 3, Rivermead Workshops, Kielder, NE48 1HX.
It was built in 1978 to compensate for the building of Kielder Reservoir, which cut off around seven per cent of the River Tyne catchment including some of the best spawning streams for salmon.