SALMON have been spotted in the River Wharfe at Otley weir.
The fish – which travel into freshwater from the sea and head upriver to spawn – were seen leaping at the weir on Saturday.
Town resident and photographer, Dan Lebath, took this shot of one of the fish in action.
Salmon, sea trout and other migratory species used to be common in the Wharfe, but their numbers were slashed after the first weirs were created on the river hundreds of years ago.
A recent trend to add fish passes to river obstacles, however, has given nature lovers and anglers hope of a dramatic revival.
A current plan to install a new hydro-electric turbine on Otley weir – a condition of the planning permission granted for the redevelopment of the former Garnett Paper Mill – includes proposals to create a fish pass.
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