[citation needed] Beginning in March 2010, the Friends of Afon Llwyd (FOAL) project is a partnership between Torfaen County Borough Council and two local angling clubs in Cwmbran and Pontypool aiming to improve the river as a habitat for salmon, sea trout and brown trout.

A major effort of the FOAL project has been to lower a weir that blocked upstream fish migration at Ty Nant Ddu, Pontypool.

To further improve fish stocks (especially salmonid) 'V' weirs were constructed to trap gravel and create suitable spawning habitats.

[8] The Afon Lwyd Trail is a shared-use 16-mile (26 km) path running from Blaenavon Ironworks in the north via Pontypool to Cwmbran in the south.

The path initially follows the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal followed by a section on the former Pontypool to Blaenavon railway.