Salmon & Trout Conservation

Description

We are the UK's only independent charity campaigning nationally to restore 'nature's hatchery' of wild salmon and sea trout.

Salmon and trout are extremely vulnerable in their early freshwater life stages. For ‘nature's hatchery’ to be successful, these young fish need pollution-free water, and plenty of it.

Contribution to the Atlas

Through the Riverfly Census and now SmartRivers, S&TC are using aquatic invertebrates as a diagnostic test, to understand more about the subtle, but significant, water quality pressures stressing juvenile fish. Invertebrates live in the same habitat as fish, so experience the same water quality pressures.

Stressed out fish are poorer quality and less likely to complete their life cycle. Only by prescribing our rivers the right 'treatment', can we reduce this stress and achieve the conditions required to support sustainable populations of wild salmon and trout.

Resources

1. Riverfly Census - Aquatic invertebrate species occurrence, for the calculation of pressure biometric scores in English and Welsh rivers covering the period 2015 - 2018
   Aquatic invertebrate species and abundances were obtained from 3 minute kick-sweep sampling to Environment Agency guidelines. In total 20 rivers were surveyed, typically for three years. Approximately five sample sites were chosen for each river and these were consistently used throughout the survey...

Metadata last updated on 2021-11-17 11:46:03.0