This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Atlantic salmon tracked by CCTV
07/05/2005
A unique research project to conserve North Atlantic
salmon was launched today.
The £300,000 project will equip a research ship with a
prototype pelagic trawl net and state-of-the-art closed
circuit television equipment.
The research is jointly funded by the Executive,
Atlantic Salmon Trust and the Norwegian Government.
The Fisheries Research Service Vessel Scotia will be
used to chart the migration routes and distribution of
salmon in the Faroe/Shetland Channel to gather knowledge of
the movement of young salmon and the problems confronting
them at sea.
The prototype net will help to determine the effects of
commercial fishing on young salmon.
The second phase of the programme will track the fish in
the Greenland Sea this August. The research will then be
used to inform legislation on species conservation.
Deputy Minister for Environment Lewis Macdonald
said:
"The number of Scottish fish returning to the rivers in
which they were spawned has fallen by at least 50 per cent
since the 1970s. The greatest decline has been in the
number of early spring salmon.
"Little is known of the location, movement patterns and
hazards facing young salmon at sea. This research will
provide valuable information on the life cycle of these
fish as well as inform future policy."
The programme is being undertaken by leading scientists
and government agencies from both sides of the North
Sea.
The Executive is donating use of the Scotia, at £20,000
per day, as well as staff costs. This project represents
the largest investment in research by the Atlantic Salmon
Trust with a contribution of £100,000.
Findings will form the basis of the internationally
agreed SALSEA (Salmon at Sea) programme to be led next year
by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation
(NASCO).
This will devise standards for the conservation of
salmon at sea.