Removal of the Sailhet Weir on the Gave d'Azun to open this productive tributary of the Gave de Pau to Atlantic salmon and sea trout.
The Gave d’Azun is a thirty-kilometre-long watercourse in the western Pyrenees that flows into the Gave de Pau. It has been identified as an important river for salmon due to its favourable habitats. Making the Gave d’Azun accessible is essential as part of the plan to restore salmon to the Gave de Pau.
The weir at the “Route du Sailhet Bridge” is the first downstream structure on the Gave d’Azun axis and is located just a few hundred metres from its confluence with the Gave de Pau.
The target species are Atlantic salmon, sea trout, and eel, with brown trout and sculpin also listed as priority species.
| Project status | Live |
|---|---|
| Project type | Dam removal: demolition |
| Country | France |
| River | Gave d’Azun |
| Removal date | October 2025 |
| Km to be opened | 11 km |
| Focal species | Atlantic salmon, sea trout, trout and sculpin |
| Organisation | European Rivers Network |
| Website | European Rivers Network |
Since 1917, the salmon population in the Gave de Pau has been almost completely wiped out due to the construction of dams. However, this is a key area for salmon, with favourable habitats. Over the past 20 years, efforts have been made to restore the salmon population, yielding very encouraging results.
Restocking and significant work to improve ecological continuity on over 140 km of the Gave de Pau have enabled salmon to return to spawn upstream of the confluence with the Gave d’Azun. From almost no salmon, the population has now grown to more than 1,000 returning salmon in the Gave de Pau basin.
In this context, a “coordinated operation” to restore ecological continuity on the Gave d’Azun was launched in 2018 by the Water Agency. This coordinated action will allow access to more than 11 km of river by 2025.
Removing this weir is important to allow salmon access to this tributary and to ensure the effectiveness of the work currently underway and planned for the two upstream structures (the Pisciculture Weir and Arrieulat Weir, which are being addressed in parallel with this proposal). This will increase and improve the natural reproduction and migration of Atlantic salmon in the river.
Due to the successes of the salmon restoration plan, stocking will cease in 2027, as a natural cycle will have been re-established. Additionally, this effort supports the river management plan and its stakeholders, who have been working for 20 years to restore the salmon population in this river basin.
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