Atlantic Salmon Trust: The Moray Firth & West Coast Tracking Projects’ Documentaries
Somewhere along their journey, wild salmon are disappearing.
Out of every 100 salmon that leave our rivers for the sea, less than 5 return—a loss of nearly 70% of the population in 25 years. If this decline continues, the iconic wild Atlantic salmon could become an endangered species in 10 years’ time, disappearing from our waters altogether in just 20 or 30 years.
We need to find out what is happening to our salmon on this journey, so we can take steps to inform river managers and policy-makers on how best to implement practical management solutions to protect wild Atlantic salmon, and sea trout, in all areas.
Moray Firth Tracking Project
Alongside supporting AST’s colleagues at the University of Glasgow to analyse the findings from Year 1, the AST worked tirelessly across the Spring months to deploy the equipment & tag salmon smolts as they begin their journey to sea.
The freshwater and marine receivers were collected throughout August and the information they hold is currently being downloaded. From here, it’s a case of analysing our findings before we share an update later this year (2021).
Watch AST’s brand new short film that documents the groundbreaking work carried out in Spring 2021 for Year 2 of the Moray Firth Tracking Project.
The West Coast Tracking Project
Earlier this Spring, 24 in-river receivers and 228 marine receivers were deployed from the northwest coast of Scotland, around the Western Isles, all the way down to Dumfries and Galloway. This momentous task could not have happened without the wealth of help & support from AST’s incredible project partners, Boards & Trusts and the determined individuals who dedicated their time to make this project happen.
The in-river receivers were recovered from our project rivers in early summer (June/July), once the smolt run had ended.
The marine receivers were retrieved in August/September, when the AST team returned to sea to collect these canisters of information. The recovery of receivers isn’t a simple task and very much depends on tides, weather and sea conditions.
Scientific colleagues at the University of Glasgow have started the process of downloading the information they hold and analysing the findings.
Watch AST’s brand new short film that documents the groundbreaking work carried out in Spring 2021 for Year 1 of the West Coast Tracking Project.
For more information on the projects, please visit the Atlantic Salmon Trust website.
As an Alliance of five organisations, we will build on the existing work of our partners and maximise our impact by taking a coordinated approach and vital action in order to halt and reverse the decline of wild Atlantic salmon.
The goal of the Missing Salmon Alliance is to build an evidence-base to influence national and international decision-makers to regulate activities that adversely impact wild Atlantic salmon.
The Missing Salmon Alliance
The MSA is comprised of the following members:
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Angling Trust with Fish Legal, The Rivers Trust and Fisheries Management Scotland.
https://www.missingsalmonalliance.org