ARCTIC CHARR IN SCOTLAND

For some years Professor Peter S Maitland has been collecting records of Arctic Charr from lochs in Scotland and in the past some contributors have been most helpful in letting Peter have information on their catches of this attractive fish. As Peter is about to finalise the database before publication, it was thought that a last appeal might be in order - for anyone who has ever caught a Charr in Scotland (and who has not contacted Peter before).
Any information on catches would be fantastic and much appreciated.

The basic information required is the year and the name of the loch concerned where Charr were caught. Of course, greater detail is welcome - the number caught, the actual date, other fish caught the same day, etc. All of this will be recorded in perpetuity along with the name of the angler concerned.

Anyone who is willing to supply records can e-mail Peter directly (SavingFish @ sky.com) or write to him at the address below.

Professor Peter S Maitland
Fish Conservation Centre
Gladshot
Haddington, EH41 4NR

If this post could be stickied for a few weeks that would be great!

Do you really think someone who knows one of the lesser known lochs that have Charr in it is going to give out that name for it to be published in a database for all and sundry to see. I don't think so. The well known lochs are fine but I can just imagine the effect it would have on these other lochs.

'Fish Conservation Centre' not if he publishes it.

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Don't worry, be happy.
Sandy
Carried it in full, then carry it out empty.

I thought about it for about 2 seconds and came to the same conclusion Sandy!

I,m with Sandy on this, our local fishery trust had a char day last year and P maitland was there, but what I know stays with me, easker1

That's of course entirely your choice.

I would say that if the conservationists don't know the fish are there - then they can't protect them. This is about conservation, not fishing.

There are far more threats to these fish than just angling, although it has it's impact (mainly from managed fisheries). Other serious threats include: fish farms (farmed rainbow trout particularly), acidification and other impacts from forestry, introduced species (pike and perch), engineering schemes (smaller impact) - numerous factors that have a negative impact and have even wiped out charr populations, which are genetically unique and irreplaceable. There is a worrying list of former charr lochs in Scotland.

I'd be surprised if there were many surprises for Peter though, I think he already has an amazing amount of information at his fingertips.

Personally - I'd prefer the conservationists to know what's where, and then we know what we have to protect, and what we might be about to lose, and what we've lost.

If the charr populations dissapear from your lesser known loch, you may not even know it. If it's been catalogued it has more protection. Still, it's your choice. It's a tricky one I grant you, and I of course understand the fears.

as char have their own agenda it would be very hard to target them in any hill loch, char I have caught have been as surprised as I was,the very remoteness is their protection a list of lochs would encourage more people to try and hit them ,I dont trust scientists any more than I trust fishmongers,easker1

Out of interest, and being mindful of the fact that we all have very different opinions about how this sort of information may be abused even though the intention may be honourable; I wonder if anyone might see a benefit to sharing this sort of data in a controlled way where there may be an approval process for applicants to have access to the information?

That seams a good idea but scientific information should be available to everyone and not the privilaged few who have got a certificate justifying them being in the loop.

There are many well meaning clever people out there who could also put scientific information to use for the benefit of any fish, river or loch.

Everything should be transparent but unfortuently there is a minority who abuse information and waste it for everyone else so i understand why some people hold back information until trust has been built up.

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www.tintotroutfishery.co.uk
www.anglersholidaycottages.co.uk

I couldn’t agree with you more about how information should be readily available to everyone, provided it was intended for the public in the first place.
However, my suggestion was that somehow an approval protocol might enable the bad apples to be sifted out, rather than for the academics to hoard the interesting stuff!

this protocol exists already, its called no tellin