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If you live near a cold, clear river in the UK you might see some dark shadows moving about in the water. A strange and fascinating process is taking place: Salmon spawning. The lifecycle of the Salmon is one that provokes great awe - the Salmon that our reporter Ed Drewitt went to see outside Builth Wells have migrated around 100 miles up the River Wye from the sea in order to spawn.
The conditions at this location are perfect - the riverbed is gravelly and the water is crystal clear.
Spawning starts with the creation of a Salmon redd - the hole created by a female Salmon into which she lays her eggs. She digs the hole with her tail in the gravelly riverbed, lays her eggs then repeats the process upstream to safely bury them for winter.
For the cock fish who fertilises the eggs it is a time of intense competition, and often the final act of his life. Simon Evans of The Wye & Usk Foundation gives us an eyewitness account of the astonishing phenomenon.
Further Reading:
Last Salmon report: Our tagged Salmon on the River Tyne