Fisheries Conservation Officer

The Wyre Rivers Trust is a registered charity with a remit to improve the ecological status of the River Wyre and its catchment.

Founded by three angling clubs and supported by many community groups, the Trust started small with localised projects to improve habitat, especially spawning conditions, for all fish species and completed with contractors and volunteers. However, since 2013 the Trust has grown, became host of the Wyre Waters Catchment Partnership and is now delivering works at the catchment scale with a host of far-reaching benefits.

Projects address a range of issues impacting upon biodiversity, water quality, and water quantity, and tackle these with solutions such as natural flood management, habitat creation and habitat connectivity. The Trust has recently created an Integrated Catchment Plan containing a comprehensive list of priorities within the Wyre catchment, reviewed and agreed by our partners. As part of this process, the requirement for a Fisheries Conservation Officer was identified, to tackle those issues specifically pertinent to fish populations.

The FCO will be responsible for the coordination and delivery of a catchment wide electrofishing programme to provide the evidence baseline and inform the next phase of project interventions. They will also help deliver the largest fish passage project ever undertaken in the Wyre Catchment comprising two fish passes on the River Calder, along with further fish passage works on the River Wyre should funding become available. There will also be the opportunity to deliver a smolt emigration study on the River Calder, providing data pre & post the fish passage works to evaluate success.

The role will be split between home-based working in the north Lancashire area and the Wyre RT Offices in Thornton, Lancashire. The candidate will be expected to work across the entire catchment and a large amount of time within any given week will be spent outside. The officer will report to the Wyre Rivers Trust General Manager and Chairman.

Application Information

Please see the full job description attached below. To apply, please send an application form, covering letter and CV to tom@wyreriverstrust.org by Monday 19th February 2024.