The fish rescue operation at Bramley-Moore Dock will be complete this week as contractors prepare for dock infill.

Re-housing the wildlife from the dock as far as possible has been a priority for the Club, in tandem with the planning authority and stakeholders such as the Environment Agency.

And as contractors Laing O’Rourke continue to clear the dock basin of unwanted debris, repair the dock walls and create a bung in the Northern passage of water to effectively create a ‘bath-tub’ before the infill process commences, the task of rescuing marine life has now been completed.

Two floating Cormorant pontoons were also installed in the neighbouring Nelson Dock to provide an alternative habitat for the birds in advance of a start onsite.

“There’s been some major maritime engineering activity taking place,” explained Stadium Development Director Colin Chong.

“There were lots of marine life still in the dock, so we fitted a bubble curtain to stop any more coming back in and have now removed the fish from the dock under the jurisdiction of the Environment Agency.

“They monitor how we remove and release the fish and record the species, so there’s been a real detailed methodology of how we intend to clear the dock.”

The infilling of the dock, which will take place over the coming months, has seen pipework laid to bring in circa 500,000 cubic meters of sand, dredged from the Irish sea, to displace the water currently in the dock.

Elsewhere in the enabling works, the demolition of all non-listed buildings and warehouses will be completed shortly, with much of the materials being re-used across the site.