The importance of conserving genetic diversity in wild trout has been a hot topic since the Environment Agency (in England and Wales) published its Trout and Grayling Fisheries Strategy. The policies to protect wild trout from the effects of interbreeding with introduced, farmed fish have been controversial and subject to much debate.
The Wild Trout Trust believes there is a compelling case for protecting the genetic diversity of wild trout. At the WTT annual get-together in Youlgrave, Derbyshire, in May 2009 two presentations were given by leading scientists in the field of trout and salmon genetics, Professor Andrew Ferguson (Queens University, Belfast) and Dr. Eric Verspoor (Fisheries Research Services, Pitlochry).
For the benefit of those who were unable to attend the meeting, the talks were recorded and are available for viewing here. The talks are best viewed in conjunction with a copy of the slides presented by each speaker, and these are available as PDFs below. Each talk is in four parts of approximately 10 minutes.
Our thanks to Fish On Productions and the Image Factory Ltd for technical help with making these video files available.
Professor Andy Ferguson - Genetic variation in trout: occurrence, importance and conservation.
