Our Autumn 2023 Newsletter landed on WTT members’ doorsteps in November, and it’s now available to download too.
This bumper edition contains lots of news and views from our Conservation Officers across the British Isles, including:
Posted on December 19, 2023
Our Autumn 2023 Newsletter landed on WTT members’ doorsteps in November, and it’s now available to download too.
This bumper edition contains lots of news and views from our Conservation Officers across the British Isles, including:
Posted on December 12, 2023
Atlantic salmon populations are now 'near threatened' say IUCN
Posted on December 08, 2023
Huge thanks to everyone who took part in our Christmas Raffle yesterday evening – we spectacularly achieved our mission to raise £10,000+ so that we can get even more projects off the ground and support our team of Conservation Officers and volunteers.
Thanks to everyone’s kindness, we were able to raise an amazing total of £10,294.
Here’s a list of all our generous donors and winners:
Posted on December 07, 2023
It does not make for happy, or surprising reading, especially for salmon. Sea trout stocks are also showing a worrying declining trend.
The Missing Salmon Alliance is a group of conservation organisations fighting to reverse the trend of declining salmon populations.
Posted on November 30, 2023
'Trout in Strange Places', a talk by eminent fisheries biologist Ken Whelan, will take place via Zoom on 7 December at 7pm.
The Christmas raffle draw will take place during the evening. Please buy your raffle tickets here.
To join us for this festive virtual event, please email director@wildtrout.org with 'Christmas Raffle' as the subject. Shaun will send you a link to the Zoom meeting.
Posted on November 29, 2023
October to the end of January is spawning time for trout and salmon. It's been quite mild for most of the UK, but the current cold weather might prompt more spawning.
This blog by WTT Conservation Officer Gareth Pedley explains what to look for to spot spawning fish and redds (nests) in the river.
Check out our web pages on the brown trout lifecycle and the sea trout lifecycle.
Posted on November 22, 2023
As a follow up to the feature length Riverwoods film, Scotland’s Riverwoods Partnership has created a series of beautiful short films, Creating Riverwoods, showcasing the work of the many people committed to reversing the serious declines in Scotland's wild salmon and sea trout populations (inevitably the focus is on salmon, but sea trout are also in decline and will also benefit).
Posted on November 22, 2023
We're delighted to hear that Pickering Fishery Association, an angling club we've been working with for many years, has won a major Judicial Review against Defra and the Environment Agency, relating to the Costa Beck.
As Fish Legal has pointed out HERE, this may be one of the most significant UK rulings affecting water protection policy in years. We await next steps with interest!
Posted on November 21, 2023
A new report from Norway’s Scientific Advisory Committee for Atlantic Salmon, assessing human impacts on sea trout, concludes that:
'Salmon lice from aquaculture farms is by far the largest threat to sea trout... To improve the situation, the salmon lice infestation pressure from fish farms must be considerably reduced'.
The report places the threat from sea lice ahead of climate change, culverts, channelisation, habitat loss, agriculture, hydropower, water abstraction, infectious diseases and invasive non-native species, in terms of negative impacts on Norwegian sea trout populations.
Posted on November 14, 2023
Pet flea treatments are polluting our rivers and killing invertebrates, both from direct contact (through dogs swimming) and indirectly when pet bedding is washed and the water discharged (legally) through sewage treatment works.
We, and many other conservation organisations, have publicised this issue before (news item in 2020) but no action has been taken.
New analysis of Environment Agency data, by the Rivers Trust and Wildlife and Countryside Link, shows that three insecticides used widely in tick, flea and worm treatments (fipronil, permethrin and the controversial neonicotinoid imidacloprid) – are present in English rivers in concentrations that exceed accepted safe limits for wildlife. This is despite the fact that these chemicals are deemed to be too toxic to be used in agriculture.
Posted on October 27, 2023
Despite establishing a Species Reintroduction Task Force earlier this year, Defra have now decided that species reintroduction is 'not a priority' in England.The government said it was focused on habitat restoration and pollution.
More information on the BBC News website.
The news is not a surprise but is a source of frustration for many wildlife organisations who were hoping that beavers would be reintroduced to the wild in England, following the Protected Status given to beavers in October last year.
Posted on September 18, 2023
Last week, a scientific conference was held in Cardiff, attended by delegates from across the UK and Ireland, to examine what is happening to sea trout, one of the best indicators of the health of our rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
The evidence is clear: over the last decade, sea trout numbers have plummeted in rivers throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Barriers to migration, poor water quality, predation, marine exploitation and climate change were identified as the main causes.
In November, representatives of key organisations involved in sea trout management will meet to agree actions, based on last week's evidence. for the conservation and restoration of these threatened fish.
Posted on September 11, 2023
Our own Paul Gaskell has put together this video about the 2022 weir removal project at Snake Lane on the River Ecclesbourne near Derby. WTT's Tim Jacklin managed the project.
You can find out more on the Snake Lane project page, including more detailed videos of how the project was delivered.
Posted on September 04, 2023
We have just received the very sad news that Dr Graeme Harris died on 27 August.
Graeme dedicated his professional life to sea trout, as a scientist, author and tireless campaigner, contributing hugely to what we know of these fish, and working always for their conservation and to raise their profile from the shadow of Atlantic salmon.
Graeme’s book Successful Sea Trout Angling: The Practical Guide, written with Moc Morgan in 1989, is widely recognised as a classic of its genre.
Posted on August 11, 2023