Conservation

It is important that we think of the fisheries within the Nith catchment as an entire ecosystem rather than as individual entities.  The River Nith is a maternity ward and nursey for salmon, sea trout, sea lamprey and river lamprey; a premanent home for grayling, brown trout, brook lamprey, minnow, stone loach and stickleback; and a youth club for eels! No matter what type of fish inhabits the Nith, they all require clean, cool water and a natural food source in order to survive and thrive.

Catch and Release in the Nith Catchment

The primary aim of any fishery manager is to ensure that stocks of fish are present in sufficient numbers, or if numbers are below the natural carrying capacity of the river, to try to increase stocks. There are a variety of different methods that can be used to improve the freshwater habitat that salmon and sea trout utilise. For instance, barriers to migration can be taken down, the amount of diffuse pollution entering watercourses can be reduced, access by farm stock can be restricted, trees can be planted and hatcheries can be used to stock juveniles. All of these methods work with varying levels of success but it is not just down to fishery managers to ensure the future conservation of salmon stocks. Fishermen and women can certainly do their bit by returning salmon and sea trout that they catch back to the river. This is a well-recognised conservation method and on some rivers a total catch and release policy has been adopted.