The River Eachaig Fishery Syndicate has been awarded £10,000 from Salmon Scotland’s wild fisheries fund for further work to tackle riverbank erosion and improve habitat for salmon and trout.
The project will protect a further stretch of riverbank using natural measures, repair previous work, install 500 metres of livestock fencing, and plant 1,000 trees along the river.
The work builds on a long-running programme to restore the River Eachaig, where erosion and flooding have damaged riverbanks and important fish habitat.
Robert Younger, manager of the River Eachaig Fishery Syndicate, said:
“Fisheries managers are facing growing challenges from climate change, with heavier rainfall and more frequent flooding eroding riverbanks and damaging important habitats.
“The wild fisheries fund is helping us continue vital work on the River Eachaig. The funding will support natural measures to strengthen a further stretch of riverbank, repair previous work, install livestock fencing and plant 1,000 trees to protect and improve the riverside environment.”
A further £36,657 is being awarded to continue the River Ruel live salmon gene bank project with Otter Ferry Seafish.
The project uses wild salmon from the River Ruel to establish a living gene bank, with fish reared to adulthood in controlled conditions to help conserve the river’s threatened salmon population.
Alan Kettle-White, senior biologist with the Argyll Fisheries Trust, said:
“We are delighted that Salmon Scotland’s wild fisheries fund has provided further funding for our project, which will improve our understanding of the potential for smolt-to-adult rearing programmes to help boost juvenile salmon numbers in west coast rivers.”
The two Argyll projects are among nine conservation projects across Scotland sharing almost £230,000 from the fund this year.
Since its launch in 2021, the wild fisheries fund has delivered £1.5 million for practical conservation and restoration work, supporting 30 local projects across Scotland.
Salmon farmers have now committed a further £460,000 over the next two years, taking total investment through the fund since 2021 to £1.96 million.
Wild salmon and sea trout numbers across the UK have been falling for decades, driven by habitat loss, rising river and sea temperatures, and pressure on migration routes.
Marine survival has dropped to between one and five per cent, compared with around 25 per cent 30 years ago.
Other threats include invasive plants choking riverbanks, predation by birds, fish and seals, and obstacles such as dams and weirs that prevent fish from reaching their spawning grounds.
Scotland’s salmon farming companies, which operate on the west coast, Orkney, and Shetland, established the wild fisheries fund to support practical action to conserve and restore wild fish populations.
The fund is co-ordinated by Jon Gibb, a fisheries manager based in Fort William who has championed a constructive relationship between the farm-raised salmon sector and fisheries and angling groups.
Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said:
“Wild salmon face serious pressures, and our members are committed to playing their part in protecting this iconic species.
“Farmed and wild salmon are both part of Scotland’s story, and we want to use our resources and expertise to help wild populations thrive.
“By continuing this investment, we can help local organisations turn good ideas into practical action that makes a lasting difference for wild salmon and sea trout.”
Jon Gibb, co-ordinator of the Salmon Scotland wild fisheries fund, said:
“What stands out about these projects is the local knowledge behind them. They are shaped by people who understand their rivers and know where investment can have the greatest impact.
“Several build on work we have supported in previous years, allowing successful projects to develop rather than stopping after one round of funding.
“That continuity is hugely important when you are trying to deliver lasting improvements to rivers and wild fish populations.”
The other seven projects awarded funding this year are:
- Lochaber Live Gene Bank – £72,800 to continue the long-term programme supporting salmon populations across eight rivers.
- University of Stirling – £30,000 for research at its Machrihanish Environmental Research Laboratory into whether rearing wild salmon smolts to adulthood could help conserve threatened populations.
- Ayrshire Rivers Trust – £31,358 to restore and protect 400 metres of badly eroded riverbank on the upper River Ayr, including livestock fencing and native tree planting.
- Stornoway Angling Association – £18,600 for spawning ground improvements and new technology to track individual salmon and sea trout on the River Creed.
- Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust – £17,361 for further habitat restoration at Glen Fruin, including work to investigate and tackle a section vulnerable to drying out.
- Galloway Fisheries Trust – £7,769 to restore tributaries of the River Bladnoch, including tree planting and returning a previously straightened burn to a more natural course.
- Lochaber Fisheries Trust – £5,280 for genetic screening of salmon populations in the Moidart and Finnan rivers.
