SEA trout (Salmo trutta) have been granted a lifeline following the recent launch of the Celtic Sea Trout Project (CSTP) by Minister of State for Natural Resources, Conor Lenihan, at Coillte’s Avondale House, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow.
The €2 million three-year investigation into sea trout stocks will encompass 100 rivers ranging from Dundalk in Co Louth to Currane in Co Kerry.
Speaking at the launch of the EU-funded project, the Minister said: “The project represents a major step forward to achieving our ultimate goal of maintaining healthy fish stocks to provide optimum benefits for the general community.” Sea trout and brown trout are different forms of the same species. The brown trout spends its life in freshwater while the sea trout spends its juvenile life in freshwater and adult life in the sea, only returning to freshwater to spawn.
Dr Graeme Harris of FishSkill said after four years, the brown trout produces, on average, 400 eggs whereas the sea trout produces 7,000 eggs, although there are greater risks involved.
In rivers, the juvenile trout may become sea trout in any year depending on the environment. Migration to sea is associated with growing conditions experienced in freshwater.
The sea trout requires suitable environmental conditions in freshwater, estuarine and marine environments in order to complete its complex life history.
These requirements and their distribution throughout Europe make them a valuable indicator of environmental change of the aquatic environment in the Irish Sea.
The sea trout supports valuable recreational and commercial fisheries. However, in parts of the UK and Irish Sea many fisheries are showing a decline in sea trout. Causes of this decline are not well understood.
Dr Paddy Gargan of Inland Fisheries Ireland said the sampling programme is critical to everything else in the project.
This will entail collection of scale samples and capture details by anglers and netsmen from sea trout in 20 rivers and routine electro-fishing in 80 rivers to obtain fin-clips from juvenile trout to establish a genetic database.
Experimental fishing with nets in estuaries and offshore waters at selected locations is considered critical to support investigations into marine movements, feeding behaviour and river of origin.
Local netsmen and coastal fishermen will be employed to assist with the marine sampling programme whenever feasible and every effort will be made to provide assistance should marine fish be captured accidentally during the sampling programme to support the project.
The overall aim of CSTP is to further the conservation of trout biodiversity and to enable better management of sea trout stocks in their freshwater and marine environments. The project is up and running for about six months and already 28 rivers have been sampled, Dr Gargan said.
Ireland is well-endowed with sea trout fisheries. Systems such as the Boyne, Slaney, Ilen, Argideen and Currane are high quality, but other treasures are coming to light through the project. The Castletown in Dundalk and Colligan in Waterford, for example, have great potential.
For further information on CSTP, see celticseatrout.com.
Finally, may I thank Jean Costelloe, tour guide manager for a lightning tour of Avondale House, home of politician Charles Stewart Parnell.
angling@irishtimes.com