Post by Hoppy on Mar 31, 2008 16:35:46 GMT -1
Salmon boost in Tarka Country
One of Devon’s best-known rivers will receive a welcome boost this week with the release of 50,000 young salmon into its headwaters.
Famous as the setting for Henry Williamson’s wildlife classic, ‘Tarka the Otter’, the River Torridge once had a thriving salmon population. But a combination of over-fishing, farm pollution, loss of spawning beds and climatic factors has seen a dramatic drop in fish numbers in recent years.
The river is currently failing to meet its ‘conservation limit’. This is a level at which salmon need to spawn to sustain a healthy population.
The Environment Agency is trying to reverse this trend by working with local farmers, anglers and riparian owners on a series of environmental improvements designed to restore fish numbers.
On Thursday (April 3) 50,000 salmon fry will be released into various tributaries of the Torridge. Fish will also be released into the River Okement and River Lew. The fry were reared at a hatchery managed by the Torridge Riparian Owners.
Measuring around 3 cms in length, they are the offspring of 14 locally-caught adult salmon that were released back into the Torridge at the end of 2007 after being stripped of their eggs and milt (sperm).
The survival rate at the hatchery is around 95 per cent which compares favourably with the wild where only around 5 per cent of eggs develop into fry. Once in the river, the tiny salmon will grow into the next stage of their development known as a par. After 12 – 18 months they will turn into smolts and be ready to leave the river and swim off into the sea and grow into adults.
‘What we are trying to do is kickstart local salmon numbers by introducing fry into local tributaries while at the same time carrying out a number of improvements within the catchment to help ensure as many as possible of the young fish survive,’ said Bob Collett for the Environment Agency.
‘By working closely with farmers and riparian owners and adopting a holistic approach to river management we can achieve the best results,’ said Bob Collett.
The introduction of ’catch and release’ on the Rivers Taw and Torridge has also helped salmon numbers. Around 90 per cent of salmon caught by rod anglers are now returned to the river unharmed. The number of salmon netsmen on the two rivers has also been reduced (from 14 to 3) as part of a net buy-out to help safeguard stocks.
The Agency has been advising landowners on how to reduce the amount of silt being washed into the river from surrounding farmland. Silt can seriously damage salmon spawning grounds by clogging the gravel and starving the developing ova (eggs) of oxygen.
This latest release follows the recent introduction of 6,000 young sea trout into the Torridge by the Environment Agency.
One of Devon’s best-known rivers will receive a welcome boost this week with the release of 50,000 young salmon into its headwaters.
Famous as the setting for Henry Williamson’s wildlife classic, ‘Tarka the Otter’, the River Torridge once had a thriving salmon population. But a combination of over-fishing, farm pollution, loss of spawning beds and climatic factors has seen a dramatic drop in fish numbers in recent years.
The river is currently failing to meet its ‘conservation limit’. This is a level at which salmon need to spawn to sustain a healthy population.
The Environment Agency is trying to reverse this trend by working with local farmers, anglers and riparian owners on a series of environmental improvements designed to restore fish numbers.
On Thursday (April 3) 50,000 salmon fry will be released into various tributaries of the Torridge. Fish will also be released into the River Okement and River Lew. The fry were reared at a hatchery managed by the Torridge Riparian Owners.
Measuring around 3 cms in length, they are the offspring of 14 locally-caught adult salmon that were released back into the Torridge at the end of 2007 after being stripped of their eggs and milt (sperm).
The survival rate at the hatchery is around 95 per cent which compares favourably with the wild where only around 5 per cent of eggs develop into fry. Once in the river, the tiny salmon will grow into the next stage of their development known as a par. After 12 – 18 months they will turn into smolts and be ready to leave the river and swim off into the sea and grow into adults.
‘What we are trying to do is kickstart local salmon numbers by introducing fry into local tributaries while at the same time carrying out a number of improvements within the catchment to help ensure as many as possible of the young fish survive,’ said Bob Collett for the Environment Agency.
‘By working closely with farmers and riparian owners and adopting a holistic approach to river management we can achieve the best results,’ said Bob Collett.
The introduction of ’catch and release’ on the Rivers Taw and Torridge has also helped salmon numbers. Around 90 per cent of salmon caught by rod anglers are now returned to the river unharmed. The number of salmon netsmen on the two rivers has also been reduced (from 14 to 3) as part of a net buy-out to help safeguard stocks.
The Agency has been advising landowners on how to reduce the amount of silt being washed into the river from surrounding farmland. Silt can seriously damage salmon spawning grounds by clogging the gravel and starving the developing ova (eggs) of oxygen.
This latest release follows the recent introduction of 6,000 young sea trout into the Torridge by the Environment Agency.