Metsä Board to restore fish migration routes
Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, has started a rapids fishery restoration project together with WWF Finland and the local Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. Construction work at Mämmenkoski, located in Äänekoski in Central Finland, began in early May and will take a month to complete. The aim of the restoration is to make it possible for fish to naturally migrate from Lake Kuhnamo to Lake Ala-Keitele. In addition, it is hoped that it will re-establish the possibility of natural fry production of lake trout in the rapids. The restoration project will open two existing dams to remove obstacles from the fish migration route. The riverbed will be restored into a natural migration route and spawning areas will be formed to enable natural fry production of the trout. The project has been developed in cooperation with the local fishery community.