You Can Save the Atlantic Salmon

Howard — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:11:58 +0000

All of us get those irritating phone calls at dinner time asking for a donation to a worthy cause, or bristle at the 1000s of trees felled to make the envelopes and paper for begging letters that come through the door. I don’t know about you, but in this climate of penny counting, I am being more careful about where and to whom I give my money. Well here is a noble cause backed by plenty of science with your interests at heart: the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Salmon Recovery Project.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly the Game Conservancy Trust), they are a charitable organisation undertaking research into game and wildlife management techniques (they also do the best breakfast at the CLA Game Fair). So when the folks at GWCT got in touch to tell me about the new project they are undertaking to help the recovery of the wild salmon, I knew where I’d be spending my charitable penny.

Atlantic salmon numbers are in a decline so steep it could best be described as a free fall: throughout the fish’s range in northern and central Europe, its numbers are down by 70% in 30 years. The GWCT is aiming to understand what has caused the decline, and how it can be reversed. As a keen fisherman (and as many of you may not know, a fisheries scientist with a MSc in aquatic resource management), I am only too keen to better understand this magical fish, the issues affecting it, and how I can play a role in its recovery. I’ve hit the big yellow button on the GWCT website…will you?

Fish ID: Plan See Trout

Howard — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:30:52 +0000

Having grabbed a few days holiday (ie. scouting trip for future packages), I packed my five weight Frequent Flyer and headed to the Austrian Tirol with my wife.The advantage of a second wife is you realise the importance of choosing someone tolerant of ones foibles and predelictions. I picked a game model happy to slog along lake shores to photograph my successes, supply flies, and sherpa kit.

Finding ourselves on the shores of the Heiterwanger Plan See, I took the opportunity to explore the waters rod in hand. According to the local fishing club, the lake, 200 feet deep in places, boasts trout and whitefish to double figures. Needless to say, fishing from the shore I caught slightly smaller specimens, the best being a 3lb+ wild rainbow. Admittedly, my tackle was a poor match for the situation, having anticipated stream and river fishing and not lake.

My German extends to the ordering of two sizes of beer. While equipped for discssing philosophy, my mini OED-German dictionary exhibited a paucity of terms for wildlife (although I can tell you the German for ‘paucity’ is wenigkeit). Add to that the extremely silver appearance of everything I hoicked from the water, and it became a challenge to ID my catch. Anyone who is interest in being a guinea pig on an Austrian expedition, or who can tell me more about the mysterious ‘renke’, please get in touch.

Outside Days » wildlife

You Can Save the Atlantic Salmon

Fish ID: Plan See Trout