Around 1,000 young Mediterranean trout have been released into the Romito stream. With these new releases, the conservation project aiming to restore wild populations of this at-risk species in the Liri basin continues, as part of Rewilding Apennines’ broader river restoration programme in the Central Apennines.
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On 8 April, in the Zompo lo Schioppo Nature Reserve, Rewilding Apennines, together with the staff of the Zompo Lo Schioppo Regional Nature Reserve, released between 800 and 1,000 young Mediterranean trout (Salmo ghigii) at several points along the Romito stream.
It is the latest chapter in a conservation initiative that the Reserve has been carrying out for years with the collaboration and support of Rewilding Apennines, Rewilding Europe and Patagonia.
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A species in decline
The Mediterranean trout is a native salmonid whose conservation status is currently unfavourable. Decades of massive introductions of Atlantic trout strains, carried out in nearly all Italian rivers, have compromised its genetic integrity and drastically reduced its distribution. To this must be added the loss and fragmentation of river habitats. The Liri river basin, the only watercourse in Abruzzo that drains into the Tyrrhenian Sea, holds particular strategic importance: it harbours endemic salmonid populations, including the Carpino del Fibreno (Salmo fibreni) and genetically pure stocks of Salmo ghigii.
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The restocking initiative
The operational phases of this initiative involve the selection of wild broodstock through genetic surveys, the controlled fertilisation of eggs, the rearing of fry at the fish breeding centre, and the final release into the stretch of the Romito stream within the protected area. The long-term objective is to restore a genetically pure population of Mediterranean trout in the Liri basin.
Release sites are carefully chosen: stretches free of non-native trout, gravelly beds suitable for spawning, intact riparian vegetation, good water quality, and an abundant aquatic invertebrate fauna, the basis of the trout’s diet. The 8 April release follows those carried out during 2025, bringing the total to approximately 5,000 young trout released into the Romito stream.
The importance of this project lies not only in restoring biodiversity to the rivers of the Central Apennines, confirming the strategic role of Nature Reserves: it also underscores the value of partnerships between these reserves and organisations such as Rewilding Apennines and Rewilding Europe or sponsor like Patagonia, which provide technical, logistical and financial support to conservation initiatives both inside and outside protected areas.
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A piece of Rewilding Apennines’ river restoration programme
The work on Mediterranean trout is part of the broader river restoration programme launched by Rewilding Apennines in 2020 in the Central Apennines: a programme grounded in scientific data, detailed project design and institutional partnerships that has already delivered tangible results on multiple fronts.
On the native species restocking front, Rewilding Apennines manages a network of four breeding and rearing centres for the native white-clawed crayfish, in Borrello, Pettorano sul Gizio, Morino and Monteferrante, from which approximately 8,000 young freshwater crayfish have been released into local rivers since 2021.
On the river reconnection front, in 2024 the first five river barriers in central-southern Italy were removed on the Giovenco river, as part of the Giov&Go project. This pioneering intervention was followed by the removal of the Cesapresa weir on the Liri river, completed in October 2025 through the Wild Liric initiative. In total, nearly 12 kilometres of watercourse have been returned to free flow, with a potential domino effect of ecological reconnections extending well beyond. On the Giovenco, trout have already spontaneously recolonised the stretches upstream of the removed barriers.
Dam Removal Europe has recognised Rewilding Apennines as one of the frontrunners of change in Europe for its ability to break new ground in a context with no precedents.
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Rewilding Apennines’ river restoration programme is supported by Rewilding Europe and the Open Rivers Programme.
