River Dee Anglers’ Chance to Land Big Honour
February 01, 2021
Salmon anglers and complete beginners are being invited to compete for one of the biggest honours in the sport in a round-the-clock fishing challenge.
The national assessment of salmon stock health (conservation status) in Scottish rivers is based on the number of adult fish caught by anglers and those passing through fish counters. Stocks can be assigned to 3 categories based on the number of fish recorded over a 5-year period. The Dee is currently a Category 1 river, which is the highest, and indicates that enough adult fish are successfully spawning to meet the egg requirement of the river
This is not the whole story, however, because it does not include information on juvenile fish. Consequently, in 2018 the National Electrofishing Programme for Scotland (NEPS) was created to assess the number of juvenile fish in relation to a benchmark value (the number of fish that would be expected if the site was in a good state or “healthy”).
Trust Biologist, Dr Al Reeve has completed his analysis of the 2019 data and explains what it means for the Dee and our juvenile salmon.
You can read the report in full here.
What Does NEPS mean for the Dee?
'NEPS helps Boards and Trusts to build on adult estimates which were once the sole basis for categorisation of Scotland's salmon rivers. By carrying out NEPS surveys, we remove any unconscious bias we may have in selecting sites to survey. These are chosen by a computer programme and provide us with a broad and unbiased view of juvenile salmon throughout the catchment. Over the long term it will give us a better idea of stocks going forward.'
How are our Fry and Parr Doing?
'The 2019 results are mixed, if not unexpected. Overall, fry numbers were poor, perhaps a reflection of the exceptionally dry year we had in 2018, followed by high water during spawning. Our parr did better and the data was largely in line with what we expected.
With returns of adult salmon in decline, NEPS reinforces our understanding that salmon are in a precarious position. Our primary aim is to get as many smolts to sea as possible; NEPS allows us to see where there are any issues affecting fry and parr and helps us to plan our habitat restoration work accordingly.'
Salmon anglers and complete beginners are being invited to compete for one of the biggest honours in the sport in a round-the-clock fishing challenge.
The results of the 2020 Redd count are in with some grounds for optimism
The current restrictions mean that there are some great opportunities for local anglers
Our friend Robson has lent his support to promoting our River Dee buffs
As things currently stand, the Dee fishing season will commence as usual on 1st February.
We hope you enjoy the latest annual review for the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board and River Dee Trust.
With no opening ceremony this year, we thought we would share a few pics f past events
Why not make a special gesture to the one you love this Valentine’s day with a bouquet of trees from the River Dee Trust?
The Trust has been working with schools and parents to ensure our youngsters can enjoy learning about the River Dee from home
Get your hands on this Winter's Ultimate Accessory!!
A third of the LWS between Loch Muick and the Spittal bridge had gravel and redds associated with them
Within weeks of the Easter Beltie restoration works finishing at least 15 redd sites have appeared!
Just days after completing restoration works on the Garbh Allt, salmon and redds have been spotted!
The River Dee Trust has joined the national network of river conservation charities in calling on the Scottish Government to turn words into action to avert an ecological disaster.
August and September herald the highest levels of mink activity within the catchment. Our volunteer network has been hard at work but we could do with some support.
The Results of the 2019 River Dee Smolt Tagging & Tracking study have been published
The River Dee Trust, organised the first festival to celebrate all aspects of the River Dee on Saturday. We were delighted it was such a success after hundreds of people took part in a range of events.
The River Dee Trust has announced plans to plant a million native trees in one of the biggest nature restoration projects in the Cairngorms. The project will recreate areas of landscape that have been lost for 2000 years.
There have been several personnel changes along the Dee during the close season.
Award Winning Journalist Set to Lead the Trust
Work is progressing on projects funded by the Biodiversity Challenge Fund (BCF), running from July 2019 – September 2020
The Dee Dsfb has produced a short facsheet detailing its position on enhancement stocking
The River Dee Trust has published the results of the 2019 UDRS Electrofishing
The River Dee Trust has published the findings of its scale reading study
The Callum Mackenzie Cup is awarded by Ballogie Estate Enterprises for the most notable fish, of any species, caught by a youngster within the Dee catchment, including Rivers Cowie and Carron or one of the many trout fisheries in the district.
The new Annual Review highlighting the work of the Board and Trust is available to read.
A project to conserve one of Scotland’s most famous salmon rivers has been recognised in a national awards scheme for environmental excellence.
One of the Dee’s most exciting projects got underway in 2014 when a fish pass was installed on the Culter Burn in the autumn of that year.
Since 2016 the River Dee Trust has been engaged in a major piece of work to find out more about smolt production on the lower Dee.
With the season coming to a close Fisheries Officers are still working hard to protect salmon from poachers. Poaching still goes on and can have a major impact on fish stocks, particularly when numbers are down across the country.
The River Dee Trust is fundraising to reignite its education programme.
The Upper Dee Riparian Woodland Project has been shortlisted in the Enhancing Our Environment category at Scottish Land & Estates' 2019 Helping It Happen Awards.
The River Dee Trust is holding a dinner to celebrate the Living River on Friday 31st January 2020. The dinner will be held at Banchory Lodge and follows on from a successful inaugural event held at the Lodge earlier this year.
The Culter catchment is an ideal breeding ground for salmon
As expected, the first pink salmon has been caught on the Dee
This short film showcases our new project in the Upper Dee Catchment
Join River Operations Manager Edwin Third, as he introduces a new project to boost juvenile salmon salmon on the Dee.
Join the River Dee team as we continue our work to protect our most precious resource, Atlantic salmon smolts
Let's stay in touch