Otter Ferry Seafish has been awarded £36,657 from Salmon Scotland’s Wild Fisheries Fund to continue the River Ruel live salmon gene bank project, helping safeguard one of the west coast’s threatened wild salmon populations.
The project uses wild salmon from the River Ruel to establish a living gene bank, with fish reared to adulthood in controlled conditions before being used to support future conservation efforts. The work is designed to improve understanding of how smolt-to-adult rearing programmes can help increase salmon numbers in rivers where populations are under pressure.
The project builds on previous Wild Fisheries Fund support and forms part of a long-term programme to conserve and strengthen wild salmon stocks in the River Ruel catchment. It is being delivered in partnership with local fisheries experts and conservation organisations, helping to develop evidence-based approaches to species recovery.
