The Spey Fishery Board has initiated a fundamental review of its salmon stocking policy and practice in light of the results from a major genetic analysis project. They indicate that fish from the river’s hatchery programmes make a very minimal contribution to rod catches.

Roger Knight, Director of the Spey Fishery Board, said: “Most people are familiar with DNA analysis and how it can be used to confirm parenthood or identify criminals. This technology is now being employed in fishery management in Scotland under the FASMOP (Focusing Atlantic Salmon Management on Populations) Project, which aims to identify the distinctive breeding populations of salmon – not just to differentiate between fish from one river and those from another – but the different breeding populations that make up a river’s stock, so that our management of the fisheries is better informed. It has also been used by the Spey Fishery Board to assess its stocking programme, to see whether it is benefiting the Board's aims of protecting and enhancing the wild fish populations”.

Mr Knight continued: “With finclips taken from all of the Spey’s broodstock used over several years, together with meticulous breeding records of which males were paired with which females and finclips from a large number of rod-caught adults, it has been possible to use genetic information from all of these fish to determine what proportion of the rod-catch has emanated from our hatcheries. Parent testing for rod-caught salmon, so to speak!”

Mr Knight added: “Over 550 rod-caught fish samples were collected for analysis during 2008 and 2009, enabling us to see if their parents had been part of our broodstock during 2004 and 2005. This was where the meticulous records compiled by the Spey Board’s hatchery and research staff came to the fore, allowing the geneticists to match fish with absolute confidence. From the 558 rod-caught samples analysed, three of them had originated from the Spey’s hatcheries, giving a return rate to the rod fishery of 0.5 per cent. To put this into perspective, of the 8,626 fish caught during 2009, the hatcheries would have provided about 40 fish”.

The Spey’s hatchery operations cost the Board up to £120,000 per year. Tulchan Estate also operates a hatchery under the Board’s supervision, but at the Estate’s expense. Since the genetic analysis results were presented, the Spey Foundation and Spey Board have started a thorough review of their stocking policy and practice. This review is ongoing and it is intended that, as far as possible, it should involve all interested stakeholders. The Board are keen to ensure that any decision taken is properly communicated and widely supported.

Mr Knight concluded: “The Spey Foundation Committee and Spey Board will meet again in August, at which point the numbers to be stocked in 2012 will be decided. It was recognised that this would be premature for any long-term decision on the future of our hatcheries. However, our stocking strategy for next year will be far more targeted than hitherto, and its scope will be determined once we have the results of juvenile electro-fishing surveys later this year. A decision on a longer-term approach will be taken in due course”.

Interesting Statistics.But I wonder what percentage would show up if the same DNA tests were done on the North tyne.

Jim

__________________
The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Don't show this to Stealth Fox and his League of anti-WUFFERS on the Wye thread!!!

I expect he'll find a way of rubbishing the scientists findings though!!!

It beggars belief that they assumed a 4 year generation cycle for the Spey.

2 and 2 should suggest a four year life, unless of course I'm missing the point and two plus two makes five!

__________________
Malcolm
<')\\\\\<<
Quot homines tot sententiae

The ova laid or collected in 2005 would hatch in spring 2006 right?

If they migrated as 2+ smolts - and I understand that in the northern Highlands thery migrate at 3+ too - it would be April/May 2008 right (2009 even)?

Therefore 2 Sea Winters take us to 2010 (or even 2011) where return can be expected as a small springer. Obviously 2011 (2012 even) if a larger 3SW fish, for which the Spey is justly famous.
Small snag; they closed the DNA database an year or two early, probably counted only grilse.

__________________


Save the softmouth trout

Actually we can work this out quite well.

They stock 40,000 parr in the Kielder burn every year where, without any wild salmon parr competition they grow to become 4,000 smolts (they know this number because they re-capture them). That is 10% survive to smolt.

These smolts then have the whole of the Tyne to travel down and I suspect at least 25% would be lost through predation. So we are down to 3,000 reaching the sea.

It is well documented (and tested) that a 5% return rate of wild smolts is what we might expect. (though hatchery smolts do considerably worse (10x) – but these are, well nearly wild!). Therefore out of this stocking we might expect in a good year 150 might return. And let’s say 20% were caught by anglers so 30 will have been caught.

On top of this there is normally a fry/parr stocking elsewhere in the Tyne system of around 250,000 fish. Here though they are in direct competition with wild fish and I doubt very much if 10% make it to smolt. But let’s be generous. Say 7% do make it giving 17,500 smolts of which 15,000 make it to the sea and 750 make is back and 150 caught.

Therefore in total the hatchery contribution is approximately 900 returning fish of which 180 contribute to anglers catches. (And these figures are what you might call optimistic!).

The actual Tyne rod catch last year was about 5,000 salmon which means that the hatchery is contributing approx 3.6% of the fish caught.

Clearly the hatchery is now hardly the driving force behind the Tyne’s salmon runs. They do great work as a research and educational centre on the other hand, but as a stocking filler for the Tyne - it is not. And I suspect that if Northumbrian Water was not funding this, as compensation for the spawning losses after building Kielder water, it would have been closed down some time ago.

Personally I would much rather they had built a fish pass into Kielder and opened up a tourist viewing window like Piltochry. Maybe they might one day?

Colin

Ps: Also see: Tyne Hatchery Report

Cheers CB.

Jim

__________________
The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

slight difference is that the Spey stockings were of eyed ova and fry.

so it seems that the Tyne hatchery has served its purpose, shame we can't move it to the Elan where it might be useful again for awhile.

__________________
The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'

Does these stats not show it is better for a river to stock at smolt stage,rather than fry or parr?
That would mean more fish returning to the sea and having a better chance of returning to the river as adult salmon?
Or am i missing something
Robert