News

During electrofishing surveys we occasionally come across a fish that stands out for some reason or another. In 2009 when surveying a site on the Glenmuir Water in the upper reaches of the Ayr Catchment (closed to fishing), we caught a brown trout in a pool below a...

  Thanks to funding from SEPA and the Doon Fishery Board we have been able to make a start on controlling invasive weeds on the Doon. Himalayan balsam is was well established on the Chapleton Burn (the one that flows in at Cassillis) but with the enthusiastic help of...

  It was good to get out electrofishing today, our first proper day surveying, although the Salmon in the Classroom project had involved a few mini surveys.   Gillian and myself, with the assistance of Galston Angling Club members surveyed a few tributary sites in the...

  June and July are the months when the rare sea lampreys can be seen spawning in Ayrshire. We saw a lamprey spawning nest today (known as a redd) in the lower River Irvine. The redds can be easily spotted and identified by the trained eye, especially at this time of...

  We are working our way slowly through the massive pile of scale samples taken during the smolt trap project on the River Ayr. The majority of the salmon (and sea trout) smolts have been two year olds but some of the scales have highlighted the different growth...

  I had a wee walk along the banks of the River Ayr last evening to see how effective the Giant hogweed spraying had been. The spraying had made a huge difference although it was annoying to see the odd plant that had been missed. A follow up visit will be required to...