ALTHOUGH Atlantic Salmon spend much of their lives in the sea, they are anadromous, and return to the upper reaches of several UK rivers to lay their eggs. This October I thought I would head to Stainforth Force (near Settle) to see this spawning migration. The ‘Salmon run’ in this section of the river Ribble can start in September and continue into December, but October and November are probably the most active months.
With incredible tenacity, Salmon swim many miles upstream, sometimes making spectacular leaps, as they strive to overcome obstacles such as waterfalls and weirs, and reach their spawning grounds. Stainforth Force is one such obstacle. As the name implies, the river there is constrained by rock on either side. After rain, the speed and power of the flow is considerable. There is a series of waterfalls, with the lowest being a relatively shear drop of perhaps five feet, or so. This seems to be the best place to see the Salmon leaping (see photograph).
Apparently, the water at the bottom is very deep, because the violent, gravity-induced, churning erodes the river bed, creating a plunge pool. This also produces a large standing wave. These factors play important roles in the height that Salmon can leap, with the plunge pool presumably allowing a better angle of attack and the standing wave providing a watery ‘springboard’.
Despite these advantages, most attempts that I saw seemed to result in failure. This is a brutal business, with fish occasionally coming into contact with rocks, and usually getting swept back down into the tumultuous water below. If they were uninjured and had the stamina, I suspect they would head for a quieter place and gather themselves for another effort. Of course, even if they clear this lower fall, they still have the smaller upper falls to deal with.
Leaps of this magnitude are well within the capabilities of a Salmon if the conditions are right. There are reports of salmon leaping a fall on the river Orrin, in Scotland, that is over 11 feet high. Over a few visits to Stainforth, I saw only two Salmon at the upper levels of the Force. On my first visit, and before I got my camera out (that’s a lesson learned!), there was a large salmon in a shallow pool at the top. It stayed there for perhaps 30 seconds, presumably absolutely exhausted from its efforts. Nevertheless, it shows that it can be done!
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