It's been an interesting start to the 2011 sampling season and we're already ahead of last year! The weather for the last two weeks has been kind and the rivers low so we've managed to get out electrofishing, as well as continuing with the sweep netting.
Electrofishing-wise we've completed 5 catchments - 3 of which involved quite large walks to and from the sites. Sandwood probably took the prize for that, with the 2 Biologists + 2 intrepid volunteers heading out into the moor for a 6 mile-ish round trip. The company was good and the midges and clegs relatively kind but we were all glad to see the van on our way home! Gleann Leireag and the Polly were similar, without the volunteers, but these were interspersed with the more biologist friendly Laxford and na Thull. Saying that, the clegs were far from friendly on either of these 2 and we ended up with 2 rather lumpy biologists from all the bites! The results from the electrofishing will be worked up at the end of the season and the reports produced, but there was at least one happy chappy from all of the eels seen, while fry populations also looked good.
Our sweep netting for the Aquaculture Project is now finished. We managed to get all of the fish required from the Laxford, Kyle of Durness and Polla, with the results passed on to the project officers who will coordinate for the whole of the west coast and report back. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get sampling on the Kinloch following a misunderstanding on the part of the keeper, but keep our fingers crossed for future occasions should the project continue. There certainly seemed to be a reasonable number of post smolts in the pool we would have sampled and it is a lovely little river. Always nice to go somewhere different as well.... Next week is the Aquaculture Project Steering Group meeting, where we will get a preliminary idea of the results and other news from the project.
We will be continuing with the WSFT monthly sweeps of the Polla and Laxford until October. There have been a few recaptures to date and these are always nice to see. From this we can work out growth rates and compare differences between years and systems often with interesting results. While most of the recaptures were from 2010, there have been 3 from 2009 so far. Not quite beating our record of 5 years since original tagging (taken in 2010) but providing interesting results.
Looking forward to the next few weeks, we hope to continue with the electrofishing programme, building up a picture of the juvenile densities within the area. We also have scale reading to get on with, should the weather change and preparations for the Moy Games where we will be sharing a stall this year with the Ness & Beauly Fisheries Trust. Plenty to be getting on with and nice to get out and about. Hopefully the weather, and the midges, will remain kind and this will be a successful year.
Friday 15 July 2011
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Into summer
June was an interesting month for the Trust. We managed to get out sweep netting which was great. Unfortunately there was a bit of a snag with the Kinloch, but things are now smoothed out so we'll give it a try next week, weather permitting. In the meantime we managed to complete the Kyle of Durness nettings and also the Laxford. We still have a few fish to get from the Polla and that will complete the RAFTS project from our end. Its then back to our regular nettings on the Polla and Laxford. There should be a report coming out of RAFTS in the next month detailing all of the findings from the west coast sweep netting.
Crabs Claws was also completed. The P4 and P5 classes from Achfary, Durness, Kinlochbervie and Scourie were out on 2 separate occasions looking in the rock pools, completing a seaweed safari, crab fishing and shell collecting, ogether with a lot of games and art projects. Hopefully the children have learnt a lot - they certainly seemed to while on the beach, naming a large number of different species over the 2 days. The seaweed total also increased to 12, bettering the score for the P6 and P7.
June also saw the start of organising for the Wet and Wild Weekend in Kinlochbervie. Plans are still in the early stages but are likely to showcase KLB and the Sutherland environment. There are a range of activities being explored and it looks likely to be an excellent, fun weekend. The provisional date is the 27th August, sharing a venue with the annual KLB Raft Race.
Mink continue to be an issue in the area. More and more sightings are being reported and the Trust is helping to coordinate the provision of rafts and traps to the various estates. There is a mink officer employed within the area, but the Trust is the local contact for any issues and reported sightings. There are few non-native species present within the area but we are surrounded by a large number. It is therefore only a matter of time before they appear, as with the mink, and vigilance is required at all times. Thanks to all those helping with the monitoring.
In between this, the Trust have been helping to prepare grant applications for a couple of large projects. Fingers crossed that they are successful - with the potential for a large scale sea lice project within the area and the development of 'Pearl in the Classroom' within the next few years.
The electrofishing season has now started - and we're already ahead of last year!! Unfortunately today's fishing was undertaken in between the showers so everything is crossed that the rain doesn't get heavier. It has to be said, however, that the weather change, which has also brought winds, helped by keeping the midges and clegs away. So - dry but windy please, then we can continue with a successful fishing year and build on the findings from the Polly and Gleann Leireag!
Crabs Claws was also completed. The P4 and P5 classes from Achfary, Durness, Kinlochbervie and Scourie were out on 2 separate occasions looking in the rock pools, completing a seaweed safari, crab fishing and shell collecting, ogether with a lot of games and art projects. Hopefully the children have learnt a lot - they certainly seemed to while on the beach, naming a large number of different species over the 2 days. The seaweed total also increased to 12, bettering the score for the P6 and P7.
June also saw the start of organising for the Wet and Wild Weekend in Kinlochbervie. Plans are still in the early stages but are likely to showcase KLB and the Sutherland environment. There are a range of activities being explored and it looks likely to be an excellent, fun weekend. The provisional date is the 27th August, sharing a venue with the annual KLB Raft Race.
Mink continue to be an issue in the area. More and more sightings are being reported and the Trust is helping to coordinate the provision of rafts and traps to the various estates. There is a mink officer employed within the area, but the Trust is the local contact for any issues and reported sightings. There are few non-native species present within the area but we are surrounded by a large number. It is therefore only a matter of time before they appear, as with the mink, and vigilance is required at all times. Thanks to all those helping with the monitoring.
In between this, the Trust have been helping to prepare grant applications for a couple of large projects. Fingers crossed that they are successful - with the potential for a large scale sea lice project within the area and the development of 'Pearl in the Classroom' within the next few years.
The electrofishing season has now started - and we're already ahead of last year!! Unfortunately today's fishing was undertaken in between the showers so everything is crossed that the rain doesn't get heavier. It has to be said, however, that the weather change, which has also brought winds, helped by keeping the midges and clegs away. So - dry but windy please, then we can continue with a successful fishing year and build on the findings from the Polly and Gleann Leireag!
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