UHI Inverness publishes report on monitoring freshwater fish
A report that examines the monitoring of fish populations in Scottish freshwater lochs has been published by researchers from UHI Inverness.
The report presents findings from a stakeholder workshop aimed at developing best practices for fish monitoring in Scottish freshwater lochs to ensure adequate protection of fish populations.
The main objective of the project was to produce guidelines to support the development of suitable fish assessment methods.
It assessed the current methodologies for sampling fish populations in Scottish freshwater lochs, whilst acknowledging the complexity and longstanding challenges.
Understanding fish species and their abundance in Scottish lochs is essential for management, conservation, and regulatory compliance.
The project was led by Dr Nathan Griffiths of the Institute for Biodiversity and Freshwater Conservation working with the Centre for Living Sustainability, and in collaboration with the Scottish Government and CREW.
The Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) is a Scottish Government funded partnership between the James Hutton Institute, Scottish Higher Education Institutes and Research Institutes.
The rise in pumped storage hydro-electric projects involving large lochs adds pressure on fish populations, necessitating their proper assessment. Various fish monitoring methods exist, but no single method is universally applicable.
Careful selection of approaches is crucial to meet ecological data requirements across space and time.