IFI has established a National Bass Programme to collect data on bass in order to provide scientific advice to support management and conservation of Ireland’s bass resource. Bass is Ireland’s only marine fish species which is managed for angling. The programme is being developed to determine the status of bass stocks and also to improve understanding of their ecology and biology in Ireland for the long-term sustainability of the species.
IRD Duhallow LIFE Project
In 2010, IRD Duhallow was awarded funding from the EU LIFE + programme pointing the way towards the conservation of Freshwater Pearl Mussel, Atlantic Salmon, Otter, Kingfisher and Dipper on the River Allow, a tributary of the River Blackwater SAC. These species are integral to the river and require high quality river water status to survive. In recent times the conservation status of the site has become increasingly under pressure leading to increased nutrient enrichment, channel degradation and siltation caused by years of decline of riparian areas of the river. The main purpose of the project will be to bring about a sustained enhancement of the river bed and the riparian zone. To achieve this, it is essential that all stakeholders in the river work together, highlighting the importance of the river to all parties and the role that they will play in its future conservation.
Restoration works are proposed to be conducted on the Allow River, which flows through Freemount and Kanturk before joining the main Blackwater Channel outside Banteer. Proposed works will include halting bank erosion, introducing alternative forms of cattle drink sources for livestock along the river and control of river weed while ensuring that the needs of all landowners along the river are satisfied. These works should result in the improvement of the water quality of the river, thus maintaining it at a high standard.
An integral part of the project will be engaging local communities and creating awareness of the river and its habitats. Education will be a major focus of the project where local schools both at primary and secondary level will be invited to participate in the project and learn about all aspects of river life.
More information on IRD Duhallow Life is available at http://www.duhallowlife.com
A ferox trout being placed in the recovery tank after being tagged
Ferox Trout Study
Ferox trout are large lake trout known to be genetically separate from the normal brown trout stock. These fish have being heavily exploited by angling in the recent past and little is known of their biology or spawning locations in major Irish lakes. A radio telemetry project began in 2005 to tag Ferox trout in Lough Corrib in an attempt to determine spawning locations with a view to protecting the stock for the long term. Over the three year period, 2005-2007, eighty Ferox trout were tagged in Lough Corrib. By radio tracking at spawning time, it was found that 82% of tagged trout were recorded in the Cong River. This tributary of Lough Corrib has been shown to be the primary spawning location for Ferox trout in the Corrib catchment. As a result of the findings of this study, a conservation bye-law was introduced in 2008 on the Cong River and Cong Canal to protect the spawning ferox trout population.
A radio tagged ferox trout being released
The study moved to the Lough Mask catchment in 2008 when 32 ferox trout were radio-tagged to determine spawning locations. A further 35 ferox trout were tagged in 2009 and 24 in 2010. The Cong canal, which connects Lough Mask and Lough Corrib, has been shown to be the primary spawning location of ferox trout from Lough Mask. Ferox were also recorded spawning in the Glensaul and Carhernagower rivers. Radio tracking with the assistance of the Air Corps greatly improved the detection of radio tagged fish. A three year battery life for tags will allow detection of tagged fish until 2012. A proposed outcome of the research project is to introduce conservation measures to protect ferox trout on the principle spawning streams of Lough Mask.
Further Information
Dr. Patrick Gargan
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +353 (0)1 884 2600
The AARC project in Ireland will help increase our understanding of some of the factors causing salmon population declines in the River Shannon and how they might be addressed by using new developments from the study of restoration ecology.
National Salmon Monitoring Programme
Conservation Limits have been set for all 148 Irish salmon rivers and recreational and commercial inshore fisheries are now regulated relative to these conservation limits being met on a river by river basis. The Standing Scientific Committee (SSC) of IFI annually reviews all data for salmon rivers to provide scientific advice on the compliance levels (i.e. CL attainment levels). About twenty five rivers have fish counters and the upstream salmon run can be assessed against the number of salmon required to spawn (the Conservation Limit) and this allows the scientists to give advice on the salmon surplus that can be taken each year, either by anglers or draft net fishermen. There are a further forty rivers where recent rod catches enable an estimate of the total returning stock to be made as anglers on average exploit about 15% of the available salmon stock. Therefore, there are 65 rivers with a direct measure of adult salmon abundance where the attainment of salmon conservation limits can be assessed nationally.
Many rivers have no direct means of assessing attainment of conservation limits and the assessments described below allow an assessment of attainment of CL to be undertaken.
Indirect measures of assessment
Prior to the 2010 salmon season the scientific advice identified 35 rivers under CL and therefore there were no harvest options available to allow a fishery to take place. Most of these rivers do not have a fish counter and there was no rod catch made in 2010 to allow for estimation of upstream escapement. Therefore there was no direct measure of salmon runs to advice on stock status for future years. No assessment of CL attainment can be made for the another forty five salmon rivers (mainly small systems) as they do not have counters or very low rod catches (< 10 per annum) are recorded and these rivers have been closed to angling exploitation.
It will not be possible to install fish counters in all rivers to assess stock status and many rivers will remain closed in the future unless other measures of stock strength can be found. A number of indirect measures of salmon abundance have been identified including redd counts and juvenile salmon indices that can be used in the absence of direct measures.
Salmon Redd Counts
A national database of salmon redd counts, undertaken by IFI staff in each RBD, has been compiled to provide an indirect measure of annual abundance. The ability to count salmon redds varies from river to river depending on topography, river flow and catchment size, the spaty nature of catchments, etc. Even with rivers where good annual redd counts are possible, severe winter floods can hamper accurate data collection on a consistent annual basis. Redd count data is being used, where robust data exists, to provide an index of salmon abundance that can be used to advice on attainment of salmon conservation limits.
Juvenile Salmon Index
The abundance of salmon fry close to salmon redds in riffle areas has been used previously (Kennedy & Crozier, 1991) as an index of salmon abundance on the River Bush in Northern Ireland. This technique is now being developed for Irish salmon rivers to provide an index of juvenile salmon abundance on a catchment-wide basis. Catchment-wide electro-fishing was undertaken at 1092 sites in 40 catchments in 2010 to assess abundance and distribution of salmon fry. In total, 82 individual catchments have been surveyed in the first four years of this assessment.
Findings from the first three year of the programme were presented to the Standing Scientific Committee (2009), and, following statistical analysis, the SCC proposed that rivers which were predicted not to have a salmon surplus in 2010, but where the salmon fry index was ≥ 17, could be considered for catch and release in 2010. On this basis, the SSC proposed the opening of 8 rivers on a catch and release basis in 2010. The SSC proposed opening five rivers (Boyne, Bride, Glyde, Slaney and Milltown) in 2011 based on the 2010 catchment wide electro-fishing programme.
The technique has good potential for salmon stock assessment and is likely to be more reflective of salmon stock status in rivers where rod catch could not be used to estimate salmon stock size (i.e where limited angling occurs or in smaller rivers). Several years of data will be required to compile a robust dataset against which individual catchment performance and trends can be assessed. Catchment-wide electro-fishing is also important in providing managers with information on the distribution and abundance of salmon fry. The absence or low density of salmon fry may be related to water quality issues, obstructions, or habitat damage and areas of low abundance can be investigated.
The use of PIT tag technology to estimate total salmon runs at partial counter locations.
Several existing fish counters are partial counters, i.e. they only cover a portion of the river and only count part of the salmon run. Examples include the Slaney, Blackwater, Bandon, Corrib, and Moy where counters are usually located at the head of fish passes or traps. The recorded count on these rivers has to be raised by a factor to provide an estimate of the total upstream run. A project is being undertaken to improve the accuracy of the raising factor applied to these counts using PIT tag technology for assessing the efficiency of all partial counters.
Site specific studies are ongoing on the Boyne and Munster Blackwater counters to determine the accuracy of the current raising factor. Using PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) technology adult salmon were PIT tagged in both systems in 2010, in co-operation with fishery owners, anglers and commercial fishermen. Pit-tags are small microchips (about the size of a grain of rice) which are mounted on plastic floy tags and attached to a sample of rod or net caught adult salmon. Each tag has a unique code. The proportion of these tagged fish passing through or over the customised PIT counting facilities at both sites will provide an estimate of the proportion of fish being counted at each partial counter.
Pit tagging needs to be undertaken over a range of water heights as the usage of a fish pass and counter may change with changing river flow conditions. However the technique has the ability to more accurately estimate total salmon runs at partial salmon count sites. The results of this research will provide a more accurate assessment of the proportion of the salmon run using fish counters and help derive total salmon runs at partial counter sites.
Further Information (contact details)
Dr. Patrick Gargan / Dr. William Roche
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +353 (0)1 884 2600
Selected Publications
- pdf Kerry Blackwater Juvenile Salmonid Survey 2014 (2.79 MB)
- pdf Feale Juvenile Salmonid Survey 2014 (4.24 MB)
- pdf Currane Juvenile Salmonid Survey 2014 (3.35 MB)
Reports from The Standing Scientific Committee for Salmon to IFI
- pdf The Status of Irish Salmon Stocks in 2015 with Precautionary Catch Advice for 2016 (2.74 MB)
- pdf The Status of Irish Salmon Stocks in 2014 with Precautionary Catch Advice for 2015 (2 MB) (2.33 MB)
- pdf The Status of Irish Salmon Stocks in 2013 with Precautionary Catch Advice for 2014 (2 MB) (2.25 MB)
- default The Status of Irish Salmon Stocks in 2012 with Precautionary Catch Advice for 2013 (2.2 MB)
- default The Status of Irish Salmon Stocks in 2011 with Precautionary Catch Advice for 2012 (1.27 MB)
- default The Status of Irish Salmon Stocks in 2010, with Precautionary Catch Advice for 2011 (614.9 kB)
- default The Status of Irish Salmon Stocks in 2010 - Appendices (763.07 kB)
Salmon monitoring programme
- pdf Report on Salmon Monitoring Programmes funded under the Conservation Fund 2014 (11.76 MB)
- pdf Report on Salmon Monitoring Programmes funded under the Conservation Stamp 2013 (3.43 MB)
- pdf Report on Salmon Monitoring Programmes funded under the Conservation Stamp 2012 (3.59 MB)
- pdf Report on Salmon Monitoring Programme Funded under the Conservation Stamp Fund 2011 (12.31 MB)
