The £3m, 4-year Scottish salmon conservation project delivers its final results

publication date: Jun 12, 2008

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author/source: Salmon Editor

The Conservation of Atlantic Salmon In Scotland (CASS) project this week (11 & 12 June) is delivering its final results after four and a half years and a 3 Million pound budget. The conderefence titled, "Atlantic salmon conservation: where we’ve come from, where we are, where we should go" will be chaired by Scottish Natural Heritage and is being held at the SNH Battleby Conference Centre, Perth.

The CASS project covers the River Oykel, the River Spey, the River Moriston, the River Dee, the River South Esk, the River Tay, the River Tweed and the River Bladnoch and is the single most significant salmon conservation project ever undertaken in Scotland, with seventeen partners and nine co-financiers in addition to the European Commission. The project will significantly improve the natural freshwater habitat for salmon on 8 of the key salmon river SAC’s in Scotland, which constitute approximately 38% of the Atlantic salmon resource in Scotland.

The overall objective of the project has been to "safeguard and maintain the abundance and diversity of salmon in Scotland through the significant improvement of freshwater habitats, the development of management guidelines, and the promotion and demonstration of best practice in removal of key threats through joint working and partnership.”

The key objectives are:
1 Halt the remaining commercial netting of salmon on 2 rivers
2 Remove or bypass 25 obstacles improving access for salmon to 187km of habitat
3 Improve over 39,060m2 of freshwater habitat for spawning and juvenile salmon
4 Restock restored areas of habitat with local populations of wild salmon on 3 rivers
5 Control grazing along 52.7 km of river to improve river habitat and protect river banks
6 Stabilise 500m of eroding riverbank and reduce siltation from surface runoff into two rivers
7 Extend and diversify riparian woodland habitat along 4 rivers
8 Provide general guidance and a local code of practice for gravel extraction in salmon rivers
9 Raise awareness of salmon conservation issues with river owners and the public

The final June conference will hear 15 presentations from key members of the project and visit a number of locations on the Tay.