2026-10-28 · about 1 min read
What the declaration's numbers mean for fish
The 2023 declaration protects over 400 km of free-flowing river. For aquatic life, that phrase is the whole story: no dam, no weir, no barrier that a migrating animal cannot pass.
The river and its surroundings host over 1,100 animal species per the same declaration. The fish share of that count is not broken out in any source we cite, so we do not invent a breakdown.
Why connectivity matters: the eel example
The European eel is the clearest illustration. It is catadromous — adults leave freshwater to spawn at sea — which means any barrier on the main stem cuts the life cycle. On an undammed river, movement between the sea and the upper valley stays open.
IUCN assesses the European eel as Critically Endangered, which is why a free-flowing river of this size matters far beyond its own banks.
Gravel, kept clean by a live river
Salmonid spawning needs loose, silt-free gravel, and an undammed river keeps moving and cleaning its own gravel through seasonal floods. That mechanism is part of why the park protects the river's dynamics, not just its water.
Specific fishing regulations are not part of our sourced record, so we do not summarise any.
Read next: the river's living record
The wider corridor ecology is in the biodiversity note; why the river stays undammed is in community stewardship.