Baby creature found in UK river for the ‘first time in over 200 years.’ See it
While surveying a river in the central United Kingdom, conservationists noticed a small aquatic creature. It probably didn’t look like much to the average observer, but it turned out to be a first-of-its-kind sighting in “over 200 years.”
Volunteers and staff with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust recently conducted an electrofishing survey of the River Don in Sheffield as part of their ongoing monitoring efforts, the charity said in an Aug. 18 news release.
Among their catch, the team noticed a baby fish and identified it as a young Atlantic salmon, or parr, the organization said. A photo shows the olive green fish.
“Atlantic salmon were once widespread in the River Don but became extinct locally due to pollution, overfishing, and weirs that blocked their migration routes,” the charity said. For decades, conservationists have worked to restore the “ecologically dead” river, remove as many barriers as possible and install alternative “fish passes.”
“Although adult salmon have been spotted making their way upstream in recent years, no one knew for sure if they were managing to spawn,” the organization said. “Now we do.”
The recent parr sighting is “the first time in over 200 years” that Atlantic salmon have successfully spawned in the River Don, conservationists said.
“For almost my entire life I had to witness the misery of this once prolific salmon fishery,” Chris Firth, the organization co-founder, said in the news release. “Its recovery is beyond my wildest expectation — and the discovery of this salmon parr is the culmination of my life’s work.”
A video shared on YouTube by the Don Catchment Rivers Trust shows the waterway.
It’s unclear if the baby salmon is “an isolated event” of successful spawning “or the beginning of something extraordinary,” the organization said.
Still, a spokesperson for the Great Yorkshire Rivers Partnership said in the release that “this is incredible news and is testament to the many years of hard work with partners to address the barriers on this catchment.”
Conservationists said they plan to continue surveying the River Don, removing barriers and generally improving the salmon migration pathway.
Electrofishing, the method used to catch the parr, is a surveying technique that uses an electric pulse to “temporarily stun fish,” according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The stunned fish are not harmed and released after being identified.
The River Don Catchment is in Sheffield and a roughly 170-mile drive northeast from London.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Baby creature found in UK river for the ‘first time in over 200 years.’ See it."
