River Girvan AGM Speaker
RIVER GIRVAN AGM SPEAKER
DR ERIC VERSPOOR
Wednesday 18 November 2009 7.30pm
Crosshill Arms, Crosshill, By Maybole.
Our speaker this year is Dr Eric Verspoor, from Marine Scotland (formally the FRS) at Pitlochry, who is UK’s foremost expert (and perhaps the world expert) on Salmon and Trout genetics.
Dr Verspoor will speak of the fascinating range of his work on the genetics of salmon and trout, how this can be used to identify the populations of fish present within rivers, spawning locations, their migratory patterns etc. His work is groundbreaking and the unlocking of the genetic code is proving of enormous benefit to the management of fisheries, hatcheries, and the sport of angling. Dr Verspoor has already assisted us on the River Girvan by analysing “putty” used by poachers on the river – one of the less expected benefits of his research.
A short AGM followed by Ayrshire Rivers Trust Head Biologist Brian Shaw’s report on the River will be completed first, followed by the speaker.
Dr Verspoor is an excellent and very eminent speaker, and we hope for a good turnout. Any angler, owner or interested party from the River Girvan is most welcome to this meeting, and we hope to be joined by others from neighbouring rivers.
