The Lochy Smolt Programme

Jon GibbRestoration Manager, River Lochy AssociationClerk, Lochaber District Salmon Fishery Board.

Lochaber DSFB regionMajor catchments and salmon and sea trout fisheries

River Lochy and tributaries (Lochs Lochy and Arkaig, River Roy)

River and Loch Shiel

River Ailort and Loch Eilt

River and Loch Morar

Rivers Aline, Coe, Leven, Moidart, Cona, Scaddle, Strontian, etc.

Netting stations at Cuil Bay (Loch Linnhe) and Fascadale (Ardnamurchan)

‘The Lochy is the Queen of Scottish Salmon Rivers’ (John Ashley-Cooper)

• 9 miles of prime fly fishing for salmon on 38 named pools

• 3 FTE jobs and 5 PTE jobs supported• 200 local anglers fish the river and

300 visitors• Fishing brings in up to £500,000 pa

to local economy

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Total River Lochy Wild Salmon and Grilse Catch

data – River and Fisheries Trusts Scotland

EAST COAST VERSUS WEST COAST ROD CATCH

LOCALISED IMPACTS ON LOCHY SALMON

RIVER

• Increase in PREDATORS – brown trout/sea trout dynamics - over-protected seals and fish-eating birds

• Increase in sudden WINTER FLOODS – loss of juvenile and spawning habitat

• Increase in FRESHWATER TEMPERATURES – change in resident/migratory fish - disruption to migratory timing

• Increase in SPRING DROUGHTS – disruption to smolt migration/ increased predation

• HYDRO IMPACTS – sudden spate events/disruption to ease and timing of migration

ESTUARY

• LACK OF FEEDING for migrating smolts due to overfishing and prey species habitat degradation

• Increase in PREDATORS – expansion of common seals and some predator species (eg. cod)

• Local FISH FARMS escapes/interbreeding disease transfer interuption of salmons scenting/homing ability infestation of smolts by SEA LICE

River Lochy

Prevailing wind

Fish farms in Loch Linnhe and the Sound of Mull.

Lice numbers on post-smolt sea trout at mouth of River Lochy 2002 - 2013

data – Lochaber Fisheries Trust

These results suggest that up to 50% of wild smolts may be facing a lethal threat in the estuary at least every other year during their seaward migration

Mortality of Seaward-Migrating Post-Smolts of Atlantic Salmon Due to Salmon Lice Infection in Norwegian Salmon Stocks Chapter Authors: J.C. Holst, P. Jakobsen, F. Nilsen, M. Holm, L. Asplm, J. Aure

local fish farm relocated and closed

Lice numbers at Kinlocheil – 6 miles from the mouth of River Lochy

data – Lochaber Fisheries Trust

• Different companies involved operating farms on different production cycles

• Some of the largest production units in the whole of Scotland are found in the Linnhe/Sound of Mull area

• The aquaculture industry supports many hundreds of jobs in farming and processing in the Fort William area alone

• New markets are being developed globally eg. China

• The licensing system makes it hard for the industry to identify new sites and relocate existing sites

• The industry forms a key building block for rural self-sufficiency in the Scottish Government’s plans for an independent Scotland.

Can we remove this bottleneck to smolt survival and relocate the 17 fish farms in Loch

Linnhe and the Sound of Mull?

• FED FRY – 1g, 2cm long• 2-3 years in the river• Difficult to mark and monitor success• Up to 500,000pa between 2001 and 2009

• SMOLT – 45g, 12cm long• 1 - 5 weeks in the river• Fully identifiable by adipose fin clip• Can protect with SLICE• Will take acoustic and PIT tags • Trial smolt releases started in 2009

Which life stage to stock?

•The number of brood fish should be as high as is practicable without endangering the wild spawning population. •Adult brood fish should be replaced each year

•Stripping and fertilisation should be carried out to maximise the diversity of the offspring and equalise the contributions of each adult to the eggs.

•Broodstock should preferably be sourced late in the year close to spawning areas and their offspring released into the same river.

Lochaber Fisheries Trust 2009.

Scientific advice on best practice for smolt stocking trial.

We do accept that as our indigenous smolts are raised in a hatchery environment they are ecologically different to their wild counterparts. Any future successes will have to be assessed against the trade off and risk to the long-term genetic fitness of the overall stock.

River Lochy reared smolt returns up to 2013

RELEASE YEAR 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Released in Lochy private beats 18,000 18,000   38,500 30,000 (50,000 target)

1SW return caught (1yr later) 21 20   34    

2SW Return caught (2yrs later) 15 22   DUE BACK 2014    

Total rod caught 36 42   34 grilse only    

Estimated no of extra spawning fish 360 420   340    

Estimated extra egg deposition 900,000 1,050,000   600,000    

Marine survival rate 2% 2.30%   0.90%    

% increase in 5 yr av rod catch 9.70% 11%   14%    COMPLETEDRESULTS AWAITEDUNMONITORED RELEASES ONLY

FLOY TAGGING marked recapture experiment to investigate rod exploitation rates - 30 wild fish tagged and released in both 2012 and 2013 throughout the season only resulted in one fish being re-caught in each year. Therefore accepted 10% rod exploitation rate used in calculations.

RETURNS SUMMARY

• Approx 2% of smolts back to river as adults and 0.2% back to rods

• Early indications for current conditions are that every 18,000 smolts released boosts rod catch by 10% and adds I million extra eggs to system.

• Largest fish landed 20lbs hen salmon and the smallest 3lbs cock grilse

• An even split of grilse and salmon in spite of a weighting towards the use of MSW salmon broodstock

• Fish caught from May onwards but a weighting towards the back end of the season (a disadvantage).

• Very few fish caught above the top release point, catches evenly distributed through river

• Angler education on checking for fin clips a major hurdle in the project

Fin clipped returns allows an easing of 100%

catch and release

Cost analysis calculations based on 38,000 smolts released at 2% return rate and 0.2% rod exploitation

• Each Lochy rod caught salmon has an approximate ‘rental ‘value of £300

• Each Lochy rod caught salmon has an approximate capital value of £6000

THE PROGRAMME IS HEAVILY SUBSIDISED BY OUR INDUSTRY SPONSORS

• Each smolt costs the River Lochy Association around 24p to produce (without subsidy £2)

• Each extra returning spawning adult costs the RLA £12 to produce (without subsidy £100)

• Each extra 1000 ova in river costs approximately £4.80 to produce (without subsidy £40)

• Each extra rod caught salmon costs £120 to produce (without subsidy £1000)!!!

Intensive fish farming and inshore fishing started

Some key questions

Would we be operating a smolt programme if we thought there was a realisticchance of removing salmon farms from the path of migrating smolts?NO

Would a smolt programme be a cost effective tool were it not for the heavyfinancial/in kind assistance from Marine Harvest and our other partners?NO

Has the smolt programme been effective in mitigating against the effects of sea lice?AS YET, NOT PROVEN

Do we feel that the benefits of operating the smolt programme outweigh the risks?CURRENTLY, YES

Do we feel that we can improve on the current programme?YES, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARDS RESEARCH USES AND NEW RELEASE STRATEGIES

Strategi: Oppbygging av gytebestanden ved storskala produksjon av smolt i merdanlegget på Evanger og ved Voss klekkeri i femårsperioden 2009-2013

Gjenoppbygging av gytebestanden

Økt naturlig smoltproduksjon

Økt innsig av Vossolaksfra naturlig rekruttering

Fase I Fase IIKultivert Vossolaks Vill Vossolaks

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Total catch in bagnet at the inlet of the Vosso watershed: Stamnes og Bolstadfjorden, 2000-2012, n = 2251 (2013 preliminary)

Photo: Uni Environment, Bjørn Barlaup

Angling 2013.

River re-opened for 5 weeks only on one Beat

5 rods over 5 weeks caught 358 salmon and grilse

90% were fin clipped.

Priorities for the Lochy programme for the next 5 years

• Further develop ties with Vossolauget and other European partners to improve smolt release methods and best practice

• Research the relative importance of sea lice infestation on spawning populations through treated/untreated groups of smolt releases

• Research the relative importance of other local freshwater and estuarine impacts through acoustic tagging of smolts

• Use developing genetic tools to improve broodstock selection and monitor long-term impact of the stocking programme

• Investigate and develop methods of towing smolts beyond the impacts in the estuary and releasing on the seaward side

River Vosso

River Lochy

Thank you.