Argyll Fisheries Trust
MISSION STATEMENT
"To promote and improve the health of aquatic ecosystems and self sustaining fish populations. To understand the biology and ecology of all freshwater fish species, including those that migrate between fresh and marine waters, their environment and factors that affect them"
01499 302322
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Argyll Fisheries Trust News

Saturday, 25 April 2015

Practical Habitat Training Event in Argyll - 13 & 14 May 2015

 
WTT, in a partnership with the IBIS Project and Argyll Fisheries Trust, is running a two day event on 13 & 14 May 2015 , Practical Training in Habitat Improvement Techniques near Inverary, Argyll. These days, headed for WTT by Conservation Officers Gareth Pedley and Jon Grey, will be a mix of a classroom day focusing on salmonid habitat requirements, factors impacting on those requirements and mitigation measures before a second day spent in the river, carrying out some basic habitat enhancement techniques. The event is FREE to participants, thanks to the support of the IBIS Project. For more details and to book in, go to http://www.loughs-agency.org/ibis/ibis-events/cpd-practical-training-in-habitat-improvement-techniques/

Argyll Fisheries Trust News

Monday, 13 April 2015


RIVER GOIL HABITAT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT – TREE PLANTING (28/03/15)

First of all, a big thanks to all the volunteers for coming along on a rainy Saturday. Despite the wet conditions, the turn up was excellent. There were 12 enthusiastic people on the ground planting 175 trees along the main river and making brush bundles ready to be placed in the straighten tributaries.

The river Goil is a spate river surrounded by steep hills covered mainly by commercial forest along the hill sides and grazing land on the floodplain area.

The first phase of the habitat improvement projects on the river Goil (November 2014), was an erection of a fence and planting of 75 trees. The trees are growing successfully but more work needed to be done in order to improve fish habitat and recover natural geomorphological processes of the river.

The second phase of the project was a more intense planting (175 trees). This makes a total of 250 trees on the ground ready to grow and stabilise the eroded banks. Native trees are vital features in the river habitat. They bring multiple benefits to the ecosystem, such as:
· Food supply for fish through terrestrial invertebrates that live on them;
· Trees provide shade reducing the temperature fluctuation of the water;
· They also provide cover for fish and other wildlife dependent on them;
· They stabilise the banks with their root network and trap fine sediments when the flood event occurs;
· It is important to have trees on the river banks so they can become large woody debris, also beneficial for the in-stream habitat.

This is an on-going project. We expect to do more work in the near future tackling exacerbated bank erosion through soft engineering techniques. We will keep you posted.

Finally, we would like to thank, once again, to all volunteers for their hard work (Goil Angling Club members, friends and keen fishermen), and the farmer who gave us his permission to fence the land and work on the riparian buffer zone.


River Goil before tree planting.

Goil Angling Club volunteers. Happy faces.
Team work.



Excellent progress.


Installation of stakes and shelterguards around the tree.
Tree planting on the island.

Collecting brush from the felled forest nearby.

Cutting brush bundles to the same size.

Making even piles.

Packing brush bundles together.


Argyll Fisheries Trust News

Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Adios to Danny, Welcome to Maja!

After 3 years working at Argyll Fisheries Trust, Danny Brazier decided to try for pastures new, and took up a terrific looking job at the Eden Rivers Trust.  He'll be missed, and we wish him and his family all the best for the future.

Splitter!

However, Argyll Fisheries Trust is delighted to welcome Maja Pepper, who has taken on the new role of Rivers and Fisheries Officer.  Maja has a background in river restoration and GIS modelling, and is a great addition to the team.  She can also climb trees to look for bats.

Welcome to the team, Maja.

Argyll Fisheries Trust News

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Some big Argyll fish!

Another Loch Awe monster for Alan!
Cracking Kintyre Sea trout!