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Wester Ross Fisheries Trust open day

Posted: Tuesday 17 June, 2014 @ 14:23:07

pulling in the sweep net in front of the Harbour Centre (WRFT office)

On Saturday 28th June, WRFT is opening the office in Gairloch to provide anyone interested in wild fish and fisheries with an opportunity to find out more about our work. The office is located in the Harbour Centre on Pier Road, above the Gairloch Pantry.

Nearby, the new Gairloch St Ayles Skiff is being launched and we’ll plan to arrange events around the celebrations based at the Gairloch Boat Club just a few doors away. Several marine wildlife tour boat operators are also located on Pier Road, so there should be plenty for everyone to do.

Following the launch of the Gairloch Skiff at 11am, our current plans are to sample fish in the Flowerdale estuary using the sweep net as the tide recedes around 1pm. If we are lucky we’ll catch a few more sea trout as part of the on-going monitoring programme. We may also catch a variety of other small fishes some of which may be retained for inspection in an aquarium in the office. In previous years these have included 3-spine stickleback, 15-spine stickleback, juvenile pollack, juvenile cod, flounder and sea scorpion.

In the office, there will be a salmon and sea trout scale reading demonstration; microscopes set up to look at marine plankton from Loch Gairloch and small invertebrates from the Flowerdale burn; short videos about marine wildlife, sea trout sampling and hill loch trout; information about the Scottish Mink Initiative mink monitoring programme and threats to ground nesting birds (including terns currently settled on Fraoch Eilean in Loch Gairloch within telescope spotting distance of the office), displays about the work of the Trust, and information on where to go fishing and fish watching in and around Wester Ross. If you are passing, please pop in and say hello!

For more information please contact Peter Cunningham info@wrft.org.uk tel. 01445 712 899.