Scale Sampling for Salmon, Sea Trout and Brown Trout

To help better understand our resident and migratory fish The Committee would like to request that members, whenever possible, collect scale samples from as many fish as possible. Once enough samples have been collected they will be sent to the Freshwater Research Laboratory at Pitlochry to be read.

How to collect a sample

Samples can be taken from fish that are returned as well as those retained, it is believed to cause no lasting harm to the fish and new scales grow to replace those taken. When taking a sample a few pieces of information about the fish are also required and the scales cannot be properly read without them, the crucial ones are

Also useful are girth, weight, sex if it can be determined and any comments, for example injuries or damage to the fish. The image shows the area from which the sample should be taken, however if scales are already missing from this area you should move forward or use the same place on the other side of the fish, it should be recorded though if the sample was collected from anywhere other than from this area.

1. Date and Place of Capture.
2. Species.
3. Lenght to fork of tail.

The process of taking the sample is straight forward. The back of a small knife should be used to scrape the mucus from the area to be sampled and then the blade run back against the scales several times to lift and remove a small number, 10 -20 being adequate. The blade should then be inserted into a paper enelope and the envelope pinched against the blade to remove the scales as the blade is withdrawn. The sample should then be kept somewhere warm to allow it to dry fully before being stored. The recommended number of scales ensures that there will be a high chance of having a few scales which are the true age of the fish and not only ones that have been damaged or are replacements of ones lost previously.

Further information and details of how the scales are read and the information they contain "de-coded" is available from Ally Gowans excellent website, to which he has kindly allowed us to provide the following link (www.letsflyfish.com/scales.htm). The Club Treasurer will be very pleased to recieve further samples and will be storing them until the close of next season, for further information please contact treasurer@fishalmond.co.uk for further information and storage.

Almond Fly Sampling

Last Year, two of the Committee members attended a River Fly Identification Workshop held at The Tweed Foundation ( http://tweedfoundation.org.uk) hosted by Kenny Galt (Trout and Grayling Biologist) and Craig Macadam (www.bradan-aquasurveys.co.uk). The purpose of the day was to teach anglers how to take a basic kick sample and from this identify the general species found.

Since the workshops, these committee members have been carrying out monthly samples, recording the findings to compile a picture of how the numbers of invertebrates within the Almond change over the year. Gathering this information will help us understand the general health of the river. But additionally should the river suffer a pollution incident we will be able to sample and gauge the result against the annual record to determine the scale of any damage.

Members are welcome to come along to see how the kick sampling is done and see what was found. Those members that have already done so have been keenly interested in the wide variety and number of bugs that are in the river. If you would like more information, or would like to watch a sample being taken then please contact the Treasurer at treasurer@fishalmond.co.uk or the Vice Chairman pete@fishalmond.co.uk

The River Almond Forum

Ten years ago West Lothian Council and a group of partner organisations developed "The River Almond Catchment - A Plan for Integrated Management.” This resulted in an integrated action plan for the river which was adopted by all the statutory bodies that have a role to play in the Almond. This led to a number of initiatives, implementation of "Sustainable Urban Drainage"(SUDS) measures, "Management of Mineral Waste Effluent Using Reed Bed Treatment Systems", "The White Burn Initiative - a community led project and "Community Involvement Projects."

Last year our Chairman got in touch with West Lothian Council to see what plans and initiatives were currently in place. Fortunately this enquiry coincided with the Council allocating funding which may potentially allow the removal or improvement of a number of weirs and barriers on the Almond.

This spring West Lothian Council invited all the interested parties including CAC to a meeting to discuss the current situation and how it might be improved. Before this meeting, the committee of the CAC commissioned Dr. Andy Walker, a fishery expert, to undertake a visual survey of the barriers on the Almond both natural and man-made. This was distributed to the Council, SEPA and FDSFB before the meeting and proved very useful to all involved.

Since then a further meeting has been held, when all parties visited the barriers under consideration. The Council know await comment from each group as to their views of the various weirs. We hope to bring more news in the near future.

SEPA

SEPA (www.sepa.org.uk)

At the beginning of June there was a diesel spillage into the Brox burn. At the time the Club Chairman was involved liaising with the SEPA officer responsible for investigating the spill. The Club awaits details from SEPA as to the exact cause of the incident and news on whether any further action will be taken.

As for the river, there appears to be no long term damage to either the fish or the invertebrates in the main river. Some of the diesel was trapped within the sediments in the river but with all the high water in July and August it is likely much of this has now been washed out.

If you do see signs of pollution then please report it to SEPA on 0800 807060 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Forth District Salmon Fisheries Board

FDSFB has recently seen a change of director, with Mr Patrick Fotheringham taking over at the helm.

During a visit last year, Bill Cunningham, the FDSFB Superintendent, expressed concern over the situation with the British Waterways canal feeder and the lack of screening for smolts. The FDSFB have been speaking with British Waterways regarding this matter and it is understood that plans are in place to rectify this situation by the end of the year, with a permanent heck to prevent the loss of kelts and adult fish and a finer smolt screen to be used during the annual smolt runs. We look forward to being able to inform you once this work has been carried out.

The Committee

Please help to conserve our fish stocks, the fish are worth more in the River than anywhere else, they are our future, without them we wouldn't have a club or fishing on our doorstep.

Please return all Spring Salmon (Feb-May) unharmed to the river, all Hen Fish in October and all Sea Trout after the 26th August, use barbless hooks.

The days of trophy fishing have hopefully passed us by, so I'd recommend carrying a camera and capture your trophy on film and we'll publise your catch on the gallery and return as many fish as possible, Salmon, Sea Trout and Brown Trout.

Anglers' Conservation Association - ACA

The Committee are very pleased to advise that the club have joined the ACA (www.a-c-a.org), please look at the above mentioned link for more information regarding this organisation.

An extract from the ACA Website.

"Welcome to the ACA's web site. We are a unique, non-profit making organisation that fights pollution and other damage to the water environment throughout the UK. Water pollution kills hundreds of thousands of fish each year, leaving a huge impact on aquatic wildlife and local economies, not to mention the enjoyment of all kinds of anglers. In addition, rivers and stillwaters face other threats such as water abstraction, escaped farmed fish, weirs and flood defence works. The ACA aims to stop this damage happening and fights for compensation for our members when it does.

We are usually fighting around 60 legal cases on behalf of our members at any one time. We make polluters pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation every year and secure injunctions to stop further damage."