For your #FreshwaterPearlMussel pleasure we present a new article: How do Swedish LIFE Projects reintroduce mussels?
Based on a presentation by Dr Sebastian L. Rock of Karlstad University, attended during a knowledge exchange trip to Sweden last year.
Find out more👇
www.fba.org.uk/articles/how...
Welcome to the January FBA Voice... this issue has oodles of updates for your new year freshwater pleasure! We have insights from FBA's Pearl Mussel Officer Ben King, following a knowledge exchange trip to Sweden last year, where he joined Dr Sebastian Rock, a post doctorate researcher from Karlstad University, to discover how Swedish LIFE Projects reintroduce mussels. We're also super excited to introduce, and extend a very warm welcome to Gavin Sorby, Tracey Griffiths, Jennifer Dodd and Tim Boden, our new board members! With their skills and experience we look forward to working together to inspire local and global action to protect freshwater ecosystems through science. We highly recommend reading the science article from FBA Fellow Glen George... A legacy of lead in a stormy future: the case of Ullswater in the English Lake District. Using the 1927 Greenside Mine disaster at Ullswater as a case study, Glen explains why the ongoing increase in the intensity of extreme weather events could lead to the re-emergence of water quality problems that were thought to have been resolved. And if you, like us, are passionate about freshwater species conservation, check out our job opportunity! We’re looking for a dynamic leader to take on a truly rewarding role at the FBA's Species Recovery Centre. Interested? We'd love to hear from you! Please note that the closing date for applications is Monday 26 January. So on this rather damp January day we invite you to dive into the replenishing pond of FBA freshwater updates: https://mailchi.mp/fba/welcome-to-the-january-2026-issue-of-fba-voice
Welcome to the January FBA Voice... including insights from a #freshwaterpearlmussel knowledge exchange trip to Sweden, a warm welcome to our new board members... & much more!
So for your freshwater pleasure we invite you to dive into the replenishing pond of FBA updates:
mailchi.mp/fba/welcome-...
Please allow us to share with you a recent update from the FBA Ark!
In September 2025, the FBA concluded a year-long #FreshwaterPearlMussel ‘silo trial’, assessing whether the rivers Esk and Kent would be suitable for population reinforcements of juvenile #mussels. 👇
www.fba.org.uk/articles/sur...
Greetings #FreshwaterPearlMussel friends! This Microscope Monday 🔬 we're excited to share with you an incredible image of a 34 month old #MargaritiferaMargaritifera from:
Understanding early life stages of the freshwater pearl mussel using scanning electron microscopy👇
www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/un...
This Microscope Monday 🔬 for your #FreshwaterPearlMussel pleasure... we present some recently excysted juveniles.
The juveniles, from the #RiverIrt, #WestCumbria, will now be reared at the Ark (for 3 years min.) before being translocated back to their native river to reinforce the wild population.
Hello freshwater friends... Today we are celebrating #FreshwaterPearlMussel Monday with an update from the FBA Ark!
Here at the FBA Ark tagging juvenile freshwater pearl mussels is an important activity as part of our species recovery programme.
Find out more 👇
www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/ta...
Hello #FreshwaterPearlMussel friends! This Microscope Monday 🔬 we have some fascinating photos of glochidia encystment on a brown trout.
An observation from the FBA Ark is that the growth of encysted glochidia is highly correlated to water temperature.
Find out more:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
For #FreshwaterPearlMussel Monday... we are excited to share with you a magical moment filmed at the FBA Ark.
The film shows glochidial release from a female mussel from the River Clun, a priority river population for the FBA's species recovery programme.
More info:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
#northwalesriverstrust #riverstrust #riverstrusts #wetlands #conservation #pearlmussels #freshwaterpearlmussel
If you, like us, are passionate about pearl mussels... check out our July issue of FBA Voice!
With super exciting news from our #FreshwaterPearlMussel Ark plus an article about our #LakeDistrict Charr Recovery & Management project, and much more!
Dive into the FBA Voice:
mailchi.mp/fba/welcome-...
Watch the release of our 5000th juvenile mussel!
Preparing for the freshwater pearl mussel releases into the river
Preparing for the freshwater pearl mussel releases into the river
This week we mark a momentous milestone in our efforts to save the #FreshwaterPearlMussel from extinction in England.
On 23 July in the River Kent #Cumbria, we released our 5000th juvenile mussel from our #SpeciesRecovery programme.
Read the news article:
www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/co...
Please allow us to share a marvellously magical moment on this mussel Monday!
The 5000th juvenile #FreshwaterPearlMussel bred here at the FBA Ark has been tagged, ready for release in the river Irt!
You can find out more about #SpeciesRecovery at the FBA Ark here:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
Close up of our happy mussels
🦪 Last week we released 350 captive-bred freshwater pearl mussels into the River Irt with @freshwaterbio ! Helping one of England’s rarest species recover. Also checked a 2024 release site and found mussels still thriving! 💧
#SpeciesRecovery #FreshwaterPearlMussel
It is with great pleasure that we are sharing some #FreshwaterPearlMussel fascination this Microscope Monday 🔬 with fab new images of early stage #glochidia released from one of our female broodstock mussels.
Find out more about the FBA Freshwater Pearl Mussel Ark:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
Getting ready for the 2023 glochidiosis season of our #FreshwaterPearlMussel captive breeding program with @npwsBioData
A cohort of trout have been bred in the @MarineInst hatchery in Furnace, and they will share their tank with some reproducing FPM
🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
📷 L. Sweeney
This #FreshwaterPearlMussel is doing a bit of shell decoration - not sure where they got the green from? some algae collection?
Today, we had a great site visit from our colleagues in @npwsBioData @opwireland to the @MarineInst Newport hatchery, to share our experience to date of captive breeding #FreshwaterPearlMussel
@agriculture_ie @IRLDeptPER @DeptHousingIRL @ElizabethRyder7 @EvelynMoorkens
Great to meet Jurgen Geist & Ralph Kuehn when they came to get DNA samples from the #FreshwaterPearlMussel captive population in @MarineInst. This is a @npwsBioData @DeptHousingIRL funded project investigating genetic diversity in FPMs around 🇮🇪 @EvelynMoorkens @ElizabethRyder7
