Galloway Fisheries Trust


Galloway Fisheries Trust



 

Dee and Fleet Mink Beware!

Posted: 27/11/08

A major trapping project of American mink is about to start across the catchments of the Kirkcudbrightshire Dee and Water of Fleet (a similar project is running on the Annan). The new project aims to co-ordinate mink trapping while also mapping the location of water voles. ‘Mink rafts’ will be used which contain a clay tray to record tracks of water voles and mink. Evidence of voles will be recorded and when mink tracks are seen then a cage trap will be set. The rafts only need checked weekly until a trap is set after which they need checked daily until the mink is caught.

Mink Raft © Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
Mink Raft © Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

Mink are opportunistic predators and while they can have a devastating impact on water voles and waterfowl they will also predate on adult fish during spawning time. Research from the Western Isles also showed mink can significantly reduce salmon and trout parr numbers. Since the invention of the GCT Mink Raft, many experts believe that co-ordinated focussed catchment wide trapping programmes can eradicate mink from large areas.

We will be working with land owners, anglers, conservationists and gamekeepers across these two river catchments. Please contact us if you would like to get involved in running a raft and trap. Everybody involved in the project is invited to a free training workshop in early January 2009 which will be run by the Game Conservancy Trust.

This project is being funded by Galloway Fisheries Trust, Scottish Power and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Sulwath Connections – we are gathering speed

Posted: 10/09/2008

The Sulwath Connections HLF project continues to gather pace and we are now in the second year of the implementation phase. We have been out and about organising various projects on the Piltanton Burn, Kirkcudbrightshire Dee and the Cree. It is anticipated that much work will take place this year as we are trying to catch up on lost time.

So far the completed works include: addition of bankside fencing on the Shirmers Burn on the Dee to exclude cattle from the banksides and to encourage a more diverse riparian zone, the clearance of debris blockages on tributaries of the upper Water of Fleet to allow fish access, the brashing of conifer branches to a height of 6 m of the long term retention conifer forest on the Castle Burn (Cree) in order to let light into overshaded and unvegetated banksides and various pre-work electrofishing surveys. Salmon in the Classroom project has also been completed in various local Primary Schools to educate children and give them some hands on project work.

Do not disturb!

Posted: 01/11/2008

GFT staff are presently working very hard to finish off draft Fishery Management Plans for the Galloway Rivers. Seven plans are being written for the Water of App, River Luce/Piltanton Burn, River Bladnoch (to cover all fish species apart from salmon as there is already a SAC salmon plan), River Cree, Water of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire Dee/Tarf and River Urr. These plans are essential to ensure local fish stocks are protected and enhanced over the long term. The draft plans must be completed before the year end. GFT have recently completed a 5 year Salmon Fishery Management Plan for the Dee (click here to see a brief summary of the necessary actions highlighted in the document).

Neil joins the team!

Posted: 01/10/2008

With the writing of 7 Fishery Management Plans, hatcheries, Sulwath Connections and plenty of other work the GFT have a very busy winter and spring coming up. To help us to complete everything, Neil Dalrymple has joined the Trust for the next six months. Neil has worked at the Trust for the last 3 summers helping with electrofishing and fish tagging in between studying to become a farrier. We welcome him back and over the next few months he will be assisting other GFT staff on a range of projects and the hatchery.

Neil Dalrymple has joined the Trust for the next six months
Neil Dalrymple has joined the Trust for the next six months

Summer survey work (what summer?!)

Posted: 10/09/2008

The weather has been somewhat against us lately so getting into the local rivers to do our annual electrofishing survey work has been harder than normal!

Amongst other things we have been surveying the Urr looking at the survival of stocked fish, looking at the health and numbers of juvenile salmon in the main stem of the Cree, surveying for long term monitoring sites on the Piltanton and collecting genetic samples from salmon on several rivers. We are aiming to try out our electric trammel net on the Bladnoch to see how effective it is for carrying out pike surveys, but we will need to wait for the heavy rain to stop...

Galloway Fisheries Trust