Presentation on the Principles of Fisheries Management given at the Freshwater Fisheries Forum Steering Group in Perth on 21st

June 2006

by Alastair Stephen

Simon McKelvey

What is Fisheries Management?The basic principle is simple: Provide fish that can be caught by those with a

legitimate right to catch them. When considering natural fish stocks this means

providing an exploitable excess of fish above the biological limit of the population.

If exploitation/mortality exceeds the natural biological limit, the stock of fish will decline and the fishery will become rapidly unsustainable

How do you do it ?

To effectively produce sustainable levels of catchable fish from a population one needs to fully understand:

Species involved - spawning requirements /escapement

Size and age structure of the population Factors effecting the population – recruitment,

dispersal, mortality, disease, predation etc How the target species interacts with other fish

species

Other factors the Fishery Manager needs to understand Factors effecting the habitat in which the fish

are living: Physical and chemical properties of the water

body – still waters and flowing waters Productivity and its measurement Energy flow / food webs – who eats who Fish feeding requirements / limitations Levels of predation and mortality

How does the manager make the fishery better ? – Toolbox approach Improve habitat – bank protection, plant/cut down riparian

vegetation Improve in-stream structures Maintain acceptable water quality Maintain/improve access for migratory fish Control poaching activities/control predation Reduce exploitation by altering angling/netting pressure Alter recruitment to the population Influence surrounding land management practices Consider stocking

Prerequisites for successful Manager Full working knowledge of the following: Freshwater Biology Fishing and sampling methodologies –

including all relevant protocols for identifying and quantifying their fishery resources

Water quality and its influence Bailiffing and Keepering and the Legal

aspects of their operations Fisheries improvement methodologies

Fishery Management Planning

Fishery Management Plans

Need framework to give consistency of plan production.

Based on best scientific evidence available. Framework must be flexible enough to cover

all species and regions. Formalised thought process that develops

management actions from data. Cyclical process which evolves, both driven

by research and identifying further research needs.

Advantages

Encourages a strategic view of management. Prioritises issues and works required. Identifies needs for resources and finance. Gives continuity of management- staff /

management changes. Proactive rather than reactive management.

More Advantages

All stakeholders can see and understand the reasons for management actions and the research and analysis supporting them.

Management and research linked in an evolving process.

Linkage with wider catchment and basin planning process.

Funding opportunities

SFCC Fishery Management Plan Framework Introduction Aims and objectives Description Analysis and evaluation Prescriptions Monitoring and review Appendices

Description

prescriptions

Monitoring and review

Aims and objectives

analysis

Aims and objectives

Sets out the scope, duration and objectives of the plan.and also how it relates to other plans and as part of the WFD planning process.

Should set out aims and objectives for fish species other than trout, salmon and other commercially important species.

Description

• Description of catchment and catchment use• Description of fish stocks by species• Description of fisheries• Description of habitat: include distribution and

suitability of habitat, location of obstructions to migration, location of degraded habitat etc.

Analysis and evaluation

Assessment of stock and fishery performance. Limiting factors / constraints Opportunities Wide range of analytical tools may be used in stock

assessment. Improved tools should be sought and applied as the plan is reviewed and updated.

An inventory of gaps in knowledge will also help to guide research programmes both locally and nationally.

Prescriptions

A detailed list of prescriptions for each sub-catchment and species covered by the plan.

Works should be prioritised, timetabled and costed. These prescriptions are likely to be in tabular form

with column headings; issue, action, costing/timetable, funding/lead agency, priority, notes.

This can then form the basis of an annual work programme over the period of the plan.

Some prescriptions may be outside present resources available but can be identified to be carried over into next phase of plan.

Monitoring and review

This ensures that the plan achieves the objectives detailed in the first section and is also sufficiently flexible to adapt to changing circumstances and new data.

This is likely to take place annually or at key milestones in the implementation of the plan.

Appendices

Include the survey data on which the plan is based and relevant documents.

May document where this data is stored rather than include in the plan.

Plan Structure For a large river system a series of chapters and sub

chapters are needed. A regional plan to cover a number of small rivers could use a similar structure.

Conon

Blackwater Bran Meig

Salmon Trout PikeOther Fish sp

Lower CononOrrin

River Glascarnoch

An example of the application of the SFCC planning process to the River Glascarnoch, a tributary of the Blackwater.

Where the aim is to optimise the sustainable production of Atlantic salmon

Description

SFCC Habitat Survey carried out on Glascarnoch.

Divided into 250m lengths, detailed habitat parameters recorded for each length.

Data entered into GIS compatible database. Preliminary electro-fishing carried out. 3.3 km of river with a wetted area of 60,975

square metres.

Distribution of flow types

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Ceh05_con.shp14 - Cromarty Coastal15 - River Alness16 - River Glass17 - River Conon

Lcsloch_con.shp

Glascarnoch.txtSmDpSpDgSgRuRiTo

Distribution of substrate types.

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Ceh05_con.shp14 - Cromarty Coastal15 - River Alness16 - River Glass17 - River Conon

Lcsloch_con.shp

Glascarnoch.txtSiSaGrPeCoBoBeOb

River Conon Hydro-electric Scheme

Glascarnoch River

Analysis-water quality and quantity Electro-fishing found four year classes of

brown trout present, indicating that both water quality and quantity were suitable for salmonids.

There is no compensation flow agreed for Glascarnoch. The present flow is due to leakage from the dam and surface run off from surrounding land.

Analysis-Access

The heck at the junction with the Blackwater prevents salmon access to the Glascarnoch river. It was constructed in the 1950s because no compensation flow had been agreed.

Analysis-habitat suitability

By combining the distribution of flow, substrate types and other habitat parameters an assessment of habitat suitability was made.

Of the 60,975 sq m wetted area 39,375 sq m was suitable to support Atlantic salmon

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Ceh05_con.shp14 - Cromarty Coastal15 - River Alness16 - River Glass17 - River Conon

Lcsloch_con.shp

Glascarnoch.txt

# no

# yes

Analysis-potential

To stock this area 170,000 salmon fry would be required.

Taking the known smolt production from the wetted area of the neighbouring River Bran this should produce 2,300 extra smolts a year.

This would give almost a 10% increase in estimated production of the Blackwater.

PrescriptionIssue Agency Works Year Cost

Access for smolts

Hydro Provide downstream access at heck

2 £4000

Access for adults

Conon DSFB

Not possible – stock with fry of Blackwater origin

1-6 £1500

Water flow

Hydro Short term don’t fix leak. Long term comp flow

1-6 £0

£?

Monitor Conon DSFB

Add to electro-fishing programme

1-6 £300

Prescription-stocking

Conon DSFB began stocking in 2003 with unfed salmon fry.

The parents of these fry were caught in the River Blackwater to ensure genetic suitability.

Prescription

Hydro have provided downstream access for smolts by installing a by-pass culvert at the heck.

Monitoring

Glascarnoch River electro-fished to SFCC protocol in August 2005.

Found good densities comparable with best of Blackwater sites

3.5 salmon fry /m sq 0.69 salmon par / m sq 0.19 trout / m sq

Application of Management Plan process This example is from a fishery management

project with the aim of sustaining salmon stocks.

The same decision making process applies equally well to managing hill loch brown trout and char, protecting lamprey habitat or monitoring the status of eels.

In many cases where little information exists, the first phase of a plan will be to set out a programme to collect the data which will be needed for future management decisions.