In September 2024, the first Improve Aquatic LIFE action took place. In the Pjältån nature reserve, in the northeastern part of Östergötland County, a 60-meter-long and 200-ton concrete culvert was removed.
At the same time, the water was diverted back into a 250-meter natural channel that had run parallel to the culvert.
The inauguration of the project attracted around 70 visitors from the local area. Many of them took the opportunity to take a lunchtime walk to see the major change in situ. The culvert was built in the early 1970s in connection with the construction of the adjacent highway. The new solution is more nature-based and creates both more and better habitat for trout and river lamprey – two characteristic species in the area.
Important for migratory fish species
Pjältån, which is about five kilometers long, is a coastal estuary that flows into Bråviken. It is important for fish species that migrate from the sea to freshwater to spawn. The clean and clear waters of the Pjältån River are home to trout and river lamprey. For trout, the river acts as an important nursery where the small fish spend their first years before migrating to the sea as smolts.
The clean and clear waters of the Pjältån River are home to trout and river lamprey.
Good spawning and nursery habitats
The river lamprey is a diadromous species, which means that it migrates between freshwater and saltwater. As an adult, it migrates from the sea or from a large lake into rivers to spawn in flowing water.
– Now both trout and river lamprey have better spawning and nursery environments, says Mathias Ibbe, project coordinator at the Östergötland County Administrative Board.
The 200-ton concrete culvert is now gone.