The Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) is delighted to be growing its team to support an ambitious new phase of work to secure the future of one of England’s most threatened freshwater fish. Following the award of £690,000 from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme (SRP), the FBA is soon to be strengthening its team to support delivery of the Lake District Charr Recovery & Management (LD-CHARM) project.

The FBA, together with the Institute of Fisheries Management, and supported by the Environment Agency, convened the Arctic Charr Symposium in Newcastle on 1–2 October 2025. The event brought together freshwater scientists, conservation practitioners and local stakeholders to examine the current status of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in the UK and to identify priority research and conservation actions.

Arctic charr are of global ecological importance and Windermere charr populations have been studied since the 1940s, but their cultural significance in the Lake District dates back hundreds of years. We're thrilled to present a new film by Dave George about this iconic species, and we had the enormous pleasure of catching up with Dave to find out about his inspiration and motivation for the film, which explores the threats facing Arctic charr and their cultural importance in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

FBA in partnership with the Institute of Fisheries Management will be convening a special symposium titled ‘Arctic charr - Conservation in a changing climate’ taking place on 1–2 October 2025 in Newcastle. The symposium will bring together 35 invited experts, from across the UK and Europe, to enable greater networking and collaboration, as we work together to better understand and protect this iconic cold-water fish species and the ecosystems that support them.

We are delighted to announce that the Lake District Arctic Charr Recovery and Management project has been awarded Natural England Species Recovery Programme funding to support vital research to help save Arctic charr populations in England from extinction.