Wester Ross is river top of new boffin's to-do list

A SCIENTIST appointed to a trailblazing position with the fledgling University of the Highlands and Islands is setting his sights on a Wester Ross river project.

Inverness College UHI has appointed prominent international fisheries geneticist, Professor Eric Verspoor, to lead the Rivers and Lochs Institute, a new research body set up to safeguard and improve Scotland’s freshwater biological communities.

With a career spanning 35 years, the Canadian-born scientist specialises in applying genetics to understand and manage the effects of environmental change on freshwater biodiversity, with a primary focus on fish.

He joins the College from Marine Scotland where he led the Fish Genetics and Biodiversity Group, working on major pan-European projects focused on the conservation of wild Atlantic salmon.

He said: “Scotland has over 500 river catchments and more than 30,000 lochs which contribute to its iconic landscape and culture. My work here over the past 25 years has uncovered high levels of genetic and biological diversity within its water systems.

“Without a sound understanding of this diversity we cannot protect and restore good ecological status of rivers and lochs, or ensure developments in freshwater environments are implemented sustainably, and that natural freshwater resources such as wild fish stocks are exploited sustainably.

“I accepted my new role with the Rivers and Lochs Institute as it would enable me to extend my previous research into genetic diversity in Scotland’s freshwater resources, which has concentrated on salmon, brown trout and Arctic charr, to include all freshwater organisms.”

As one of its first projects, the new institute will complete a scientific review of the recently completed River Carron Restoration Project in Wester Ross, which launched in 1995.

The review is being carried out through Inverness College UHI and funded by the river’s proprietors and local fish farm operators.

Joining Bob Kindness, Dr. Melanie Smith, Dr. Steve Kett, and Dr. Jonah Tosney, on the study, Professor Verspoor will lead the assessment of the contribution of the River Carron salmon restocking programme to the restoration of salmon runs to the river, exploiting the use of genetic and other analysis approaches.

This will include genetic tracking of the offspring of brood fish to assess their survival and contribution to future runs of salmon into the river.

The Institute will move with Inverness College UHI to the new multi-million pound Inverness Campus site in 2015.

Launched in 2009, the scientific review of the River Carron Restoration Project is being carried out to evaluate the stocking programme established in 1995 by Bob Kindness in collaboration with the River Carron proprietors.

The long term goal of the restoration project was to reinstate the River Carron in Wester Ross as a viable fishery by restocking it with wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout.

The current project aims to assess the contribution of the restoration work Bob started in 1995 to the river’s restoration and identify reasons behind the original decline in fish numbers and the contribution of stocking to the restoration of salmon stocks in the river.

Studies suggest deforestation and agricultural practices in the region may have led to riverbank erosion and water quality changes, altering the river habitat and surrounding ecosystems and contributing to fish decline.

Additional factors such as stocking fish from other river systems, interbreeding with fish farm escapees and the introduction of non-native species and parasites may also have affected the survival of indigenous fish stocks.

In the 1990s, salmon and sea trout stock and catch levels in many West Highland rivers declined rapidly, reaching critically low levels in 2001 when only six fish were caught all season at the River Carron.

In an attempt to stem the decline and restore abundance, Bob secured captive broodstock from among the surviving wild fish in specially constructed tanks and ponds. A 100 per cent catch and release policy was also introduced to support the number of naturally spawning fish present in the river.

To date, the project has seen more than five million eggs and juvenile salmon and sea trout released into the river. Since 2000, the catches have increased and the number of naturally spawning fish has also improved.

However, it remains an open question as to whether the increase and return to previous abundance is the result of stocking or of a natural recovery by the river. Whatever the case, visitors now have access to the lower three beats on a cheap day ticket basis, making the river a valuable asset to the local community.

The new Rivers and Lochs Institute will oversee the study to identify the causes of the original decline and the underlying factors behind the apparent recovery of the river.

By undertaking this research, the Rivers and Lochs Institute will provide valuable insights which could inform the successful development of restoration programmes on other similarly affected rivers.