Like many rivers, the fish numbers have dropped alarmingly over the last few decades and the Urr District Salmon Fisheries Board has been doing what it can, with very limited funding, to help improve the river and salmon numbers including riparian planting, peatland restoration, non-native species eradication etc.
One of the key issues facing the salmon population is predation and there is known to be a local mink population originating from a release of mink some years ago from a local mink farm in Dalbeattie. The exact extend of the problem is unknown and whilst the population seems most concentrated in the lower reaches, the Urr DSFB intend to trap across as much of the river system as they can cover.
The project was successful in achieving a grant for trapping equipment and staff training from the Wild Fisheries Fund - without which there would not have been adequate funds available to do the work. Riparian owners, anglers and the local Fisheries Trust (Galloway Fisheries Trust) are all engaged in the project and it is hoped that this coordinated and intensive effort will help address this key issue of mink predation in the Urr catchment.
