As part of the Mulkear Life project, a ramp pass was installed on a weir at Annacotty on the Lower River Mulkear for the purpose of allowing sea lampreys to pass this obstacle. In numerous media releases it has been claimed that this pass allows lampreys to pass over this weir. But does this really work? and is this a suitable mitigation approach for assisting lampreys pass barriers like this? Is this “good news for lampreys“, or will it result in ineffective passes being installed on other rives? Is this “restoring the Lower Shannon Special Area of Conservation” ? or just hype? Lets look at the evidence.