August has been a mixed month as we tried to get as much filed work completed as we could before saying goodbye to Chris. Unfortunately the weather wasn't particularly kind and as such only 3 catchments were completed - that still leaves a difficult 8 to try and finish before the end of September. Still, we managed to do the netting, which was good fun.
The Laxford came first and we had a good number of helpers which made for an easy pull. Oh, that we could have that situation every month!! Fish numbers weren't too good, although that wasn't too surprising following the recent rain which would have enabled the fish to move up into the river. They were, however, a bit thin, although not many lice. However, they all swam off happily after tagging and we'll hopefully meet them again in the future. As a first, however, we had a number of sandeels within the sweep, as well as a good number of other prey species.
The Polla, in contrast, had a catch of decent looking, fat fish. One had been gorging on so many cuddies that its stomach was rock hard and the prey could be felt through its sides! The differences observed between the two areas never fails to amazes us - especially as there was less prey fish within the sweep than seen in the Laxford. Maybe the fish had eaten them all.....
Otherwise time was spent at the computer trying to get to grips with the new electrofishing database. A great tool devised on behalf of the Scottish Fisheries Coordination Centre, there are teething problems with the database and the operator that need sorted out. Hopefully everything is now sorted and report writing will progress smoothly, or as smoothly as possible given the operator!
Unfortunately we also had to deal with a pollution incident in one of the catchments. Having communicated with SEPA, we hope that the problem has been addressed but will continue to monitor the situation now and in the future.
Chris, on the other hand, spent much of the time collecting equipment together and writing eel reports. The 29th August saw him hand everything over and prepare to leave the area. We would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the best in his new role in England. It won't be as good I'm sure - oh hang on, no midges, clegs, ceds, or other biting things, probably better! Joking aside, he brought a lot to the Trust and will be missed so all the best.
Looking forward to September we can only hope that it dries up a bit and we can get the rest of the electrofishing and netting completed. Iza is lined up to help with the electrofishing but with Irene in the mix we'll have to be very lucky. It has been better than last year, and we've already completed 350% more catchments so won't complain, but keep your fingers crossed for us.
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