Firstly, apologies for not posting before but in the absence of Chris things are getting busier.
September saw us attempting to get the rest of the electrofishing completed. We managed to complete one catchment, thanks to Iza, and undertook some electrofishing in another 2 which left 5 not touched. That wasn't too bad given the weather over the past 2 years and the number of catchments left to catch up on! Certainly there's a happy Biologist now. As well as that we managed to get some more genetic samples from the Laxford catchment. These will be tested for fish farm genes as part of the RAFTS Managing Interactions Project. More on that when the results come in.
The end of October saw the first ever SNH/RAFTS Invasive Non-native Species Conference. This was a really good meeting with thought provoking talks and some resulted in some good action points. Hopefully these will be followed through and the native Scottish environment given a helping hand. It will take some effort to ensure that the next Conference is better, so thanks to all for their time and effort in getting this going.
November was spent on Broodstock netting. The Laxford came first and the timing was perfect. It was fantastic to see the number of fish present and the size and condition. All of the broodstock and more were collected in one morning, with a large number missed by the backpacks. The fish were determined to move upstream or retain their territories despite the dropping water and us! The salmon were all in good condition and most were large. As normal the DNA was collected and this work forms part of the Reay Forest project to assess the effectiveness of the hatchery operation.
Unfortunately that was where the luck ended and while a call be the Inver team for help with their broodstock collection saw several attempts in freezing conditions, we drew a blank. All attempts were then cancelled as the fish started to spawn naturally in order to avoid walking over the redds.
Unfortunately November also saw a repeat of the pollution incident reported in August. Yet more communications with SEPA and SNH were undertaken in a bid to get the issue sorted. We live in hope that the farm will get itself sorted and that there will be no repeats next year. However it is for SEPA to enforce and we can only monitor and report.
December saw the Fishy Fayre at Kinlochbervie High School. Part of the Fish2Dish programme and involving P6 - S2 pupils, a range of people from the fishing industry attended to give talks and demonstrations on their area. The subjects covered were wide ranging, from navigation, dressing up in specialist diving and fishing gear, knots, cooking, fish identification, dissection, ageing and product design. By all accounts this was a great day and enjoyed by all. The Trust gave several talks on fish ageing - and Shona then lost her voice!! - which introduced a few potential future scale readers. There was an amazing amount of skill involved for a first attempt. The remainder of the project will involve the children operating in groups to prepare a dish, design the packaging and sell it to the audience. Good luck to them and congratulations to Steph and Katy for a successful project.
Other than that it has been a round of meetings and report writing. The eletrofishing and sweep netting reports are coming on well and will hopefully be finished at the start of the year. As in previous years the reports will be published on the Website (http://www.wsft.co.uk/) as they become available. In the meantime we have posted the reports on the Geisgeil eel project and a project describing a protocol to monitor elver recruitment. Again, these can be accessed via the Website.
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have given up their time to help the Trust over 2011. Without these volunteers the Trust would not be able to operate and they are definitely the unsung but not unappreciated arm of Sutherland.
Merry Christmas to all our readers and a very Happy New Year. Tight lines for 2012!
Monday, 12 December 2011
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
A final fling
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.
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.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Sampling continues
The last few weeks have been mixed, with a bit of rain at the beginning calling a halt to the electrofishing for a few days. Still, we've managed to get another couple of catchments finished which is great. The Rhiconich was definitely an effort, but thanks to Reay Forest for the lift out to the top sites we only had to walk down rather than both ways - for which we were both extremely grateful! An otter bolting out from the bank gave Chris a bit of a fright - not expected - but great to see and a bit of excitement as we stumbled around the hills. The Inver was slightly easier walking, although only a little, but gave us good fish densities and fun with the netting. No otters seen there, but a few salmon moved as we headed towards the sites.
We also had a few days gardening - pulling Himalayan Balsam from a croft in Nedd. Himalayan Balsam is an annual, non-native plant brought in as an ornamental. It's a lovely looking plant and a favourite with bee keepers but can have devastating effects on the riverbanks, where it spreads and forms a dense monoculture. This blocks light to other plants and then when it dies back in the winter leaves bare ground susceptible to erosion.
Thanks to the volunteers who turned up with gloves, scythe and boundless enthusiasm. We managed to clear a fair bit before getting Howard in with the strimmer to help with some of the thicker stands. Looking at the areas pulled last year, there was a big difference in the amount of plants present and hopefully we'll be able to eradicate it from the area in the next few years. We also looked at the stands in Clashnessie, which were pulled by others this year. Again, there is a reduction in the amount present compared to previous years, although eradication here is unlikely unless it can be removed from the resident garden. Heavy negotiation required there....
The end of last week saw us at the Highland Sporting Fair, or Moy games. We were sharing a stall with the Ness & Beauly Fisheries Trust and managed to get in some serious networking. It was good to get out and about, talking about the Trusts and introducing people to what we do. As well as the posters and leaflets we also showed the electrofishing gear as well as a mink raft and crayfish trap. The mink raft came complete with 'Dave' the latest NBFT employee - a cuddly 'mink'. He was a great draw, especially with the children, and it was encouraging to see that a good number of the keepers realised that he was really a pine marten (although there was some debate about otter cubs, still neither are for eradication).
Unfortunately this period also saw Chris handing in his notice as he plans to head for pastures new and fewer midges! He will be missed within the Trust but hopefully we'll get this sampling season cracked before he has to leave.
We also had a few days gardening - pulling Himalayan Balsam from a croft in Nedd. Himalayan Balsam is an annual, non-native plant brought in as an ornamental. It's a lovely looking plant and a favourite with bee keepers but can have devastating effects on the riverbanks, where it spreads and forms a dense monoculture. This blocks light to other plants and then when it dies back in the winter leaves bare ground susceptible to erosion.
Thanks to the volunteers who turned up with gloves, scythe and boundless enthusiasm. We managed to clear a fair bit before getting Howard in with the strimmer to help with some of the thicker stands. Looking at the areas pulled last year, there was a big difference in the amount of plants present and hopefully we'll be able to eradicate it from the area in the next few years. We also looked at the stands in Clashnessie, which were pulled by others this year. Again, there is a reduction in the amount present compared to previous years, although eradication here is unlikely unless it can be removed from the resident garden. Heavy negotiation required there....
The end of last week saw us at the Highland Sporting Fair, or Moy games. We were sharing a stall with the Ness & Beauly Fisheries Trust and managed to get in some serious networking. It was good to get out and about, talking about the Trusts and introducing people to what we do. As well as the posters and leaflets we also showed the electrofishing gear as well as a mink raft and crayfish trap. The mink raft came complete with 'Dave' the latest NBFT employee - a cuddly 'mink'. He was a great draw, especially with the children, and it was encouraging to see that a good number of the keepers realised that he was really a pine marten (although there was some debate about otter cubs, still neither are for eradication).
Unfortunately this period also saw Chris handing in his notice as he plans to head for pastures new and fewer midges! He will be missed within the Trust but hopefully we'll get this sampling season cracked before he has to leave.
Friday, 15 July 2011
Sampling season starts
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.
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.
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!
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
May overview
Well, what can we say. May acted as a reverse to the traditional April and came in like a lamb and definitely left like a lion. The month started dry and we were worried that the smolts wouldn't get out at their traditional time.No need to worry about that - a massive spate on the 15th took out the smolt trap and gave plenty of water to get the smolts out to sea. Unfortunately we were supposed to be netting on the week of the 15th.... Needless to say, that was cancelled and continuing high flows have meant that we weren't able to reschedule. Fingers crossed for June as these nettings are part of the West Coast Aquaculture Programme and include additional nettings in the Kyle of Durness and the Kinloch River, with everyone looking forward to the Kinloch which is new to the Trust.
While the weather caused a bit of a slow down within the Trust - smolt trap washed out, elver traps washed out and no netting - this unfortunately changed on the 27th with a report of mink on the north coast. This has since been confirmed and has meant phone calls and visits to assist with eradication. Mink are not native to Scotland and as such can have a catastrophic effect on the biodiversity of the area. Bird populations, such as Black Throated Divers, already hit by a cold May, are particularly vulnerable although mink are not particularly selective.
We did manage to complete part one of 'Crabby Claws' however, despite the high winds and rain causing a re-assessment of the event. Day one was cancelled, as was the camping, kayaking and snorkelling. However the P6 and P7 turned up for Day 2 and seemed to have a great time despite the weather. Nine species of seaweed were identified, together with a large number of shells, crabs and shrimps. Hopefully the P4 and P5 days will be as successful. Courtesy of the aborted camping trip we were also well supplied with food and thanks have to go to the teachers for their efforts to pile the pounds on all involved! Thanks also to The Robertson Trust for funding this activity.
The Annual Review was also completed and is ready for posting. This can be downloaded from the Website (www.wsft.co.uk/publications) or copies obtained from the Biologist. The review details the results of work undertaken during 2010, with further details of the different projects also available on the Website or from the Biologist.
Looking forward to June, we will hopefully be able to undertake the sweep nettings with results going to RAFTS for analysis with those from arond the West Coast of Scotland. Then it is the build up to the electrofishing season and hopefully a good summer.We'll be blogging a bit more regularly during the main sampling season, giving an update of our activities. We'll also be giving a midge update, which could be useful...
While the weather caused a bit of a slow down within the Trust - smolt trap washed out, elver traps washed out and no netting - this unfortunately changed on the 27th with a report of mink on the north coast. This has since been confirmed and has meant phone calls and visits to assist with eradication. Mink are not native to Scotland and as such can have a catastrophic effect on the biodiversity of the area. Bird populations, such as Black Throated Divers, already hit by a cold May, are particularly vulnerable although mink are not particularly selective.
We did manage to complete part one of 'Crabby Claws' however, despite the high winds and rain causing a re-assessment of the event. Day one was cancelled, as was the camping, kayaking and snorkelling. However the P6 and P7 turned up for Day 2 and seemed to have a great time despite the weather. Nine species of seaweed were identified, together with a large number of shells, crabs and shrimps. Hopefully the P4 and P5 days will be as successful. Courtesy of the aborted camping trip we were also well supplied with food and thanks have to go to the teachers for their efforts to pile the pounds on all involved! Thanks also to The Robertson Trust for funding this activity.
The Annual Review was also completed and is ready for posting. This can be downloaded from the Website (www.wsft.co.uk/publications) or copies obtained from the Biologist. The review details the results of work undertaken during 2010, with further details of the different projects also available on the Website or from the Biologist.
Looking forward to June, we will hopefully be able to undertake the sweep nettings with results going to RAFTS for analysis with those from arond the West Coast of Scotland. Then it is the build up to the electrofishing season and hopefully a good summer.We'll be blogging a bit more regularly during the main sampling season, giving an update of our activities. We'll also be giving a midge update, which could be useful...
Monday, 9 May 2011
Elvers
A total of 7 streams are now being monitored for elvers. Numerous traps are now in situ along with temperature loggers.
First real capture occurred today with 125 captured on one small stream....hopefully just the start. 90 elvers were caught in the first trap with fewer being caught upstream. Interestingly this stream is the warmest of all the streams chosen. It is not the most southerly either and is situated in a bay/inlet as opposed to the open sea. All apart from one were glass eels, the other was a very small yellow eel, possibly one of last years migrants.
First real capture occurred today with 125 captured on one small stream....hopefully just the start. 90 elvers were caught in the first trap with fewer being caught upstream. Interestingly this stream is the warmest of all the streams chosen. It is not the most southerly either and is situated in a bay/inlet as opposed to the open sea. All apart from one were glass eels, the other was a very small yellow eel, possibly one of last years migrants.
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