Seminars

Since the beginning of 2005, ART has run 4 biannual seminars open to all in the English or Welsh regions. ART believes that seminars are a good opportunity not only formally to meet its charitable educational objects, but also to encourage people who perhaps would not normally attend and meet. The seminars have therefore been based on applying best practice and science, and have incorporated where practicable a format of presentations followed by field visits, which give delegates ample time informally to discuss local issues on site. Costs have been purposely kept down and venues have moved to different locations to encourage wide participation.

We are therefore pleased to report that our seminars have attracted a wide range of organisations with interests in the sector, as well as existing and emerging rivers and fisheries trusts. The mix of delegates has been particularly satisfying because it provides a great opportunity for communication, discussion and understanding between the various agencies and others, in a non-confrontational and non-political setting.

Copies of the presentations of each seminar in CD format are freely available on request to: info@associationofriverstrusts.org.uk

Spring 2005 Seminar - “Evolution of Fisheries Management” - Tweed
The 2005 Spring Seminar took place at Berwick, and incorporated a workshop session on compliance issues for new, emerging and established trusts, which was led by Mazars LLP, ART’s auditors, and the first AGM of ART.

The seminar included presentations on the implications of the salmon stock conservation review by the EA, the developments in Scotland , the framework of why scientific research is undertaken and its practical application to achieve the desired aim of fisheries management and putting data into action using GIS. There were also presentations on the Westcountry Rivers Trust’s Atlantic Salmon Arc Project on salmon genetics, the impact of diffuse pollution on Atlantic salmon populations by CEFAS and the need to survey fish populations in order to target environmental action.

The overall impact of the seminar was to highlight the substantial work being undertaken by rivers trusts and the government agencies and ever improving co-operation between them in working in partnership to identify problems and to seek solutions based on rigorous and sound scientific principles in a cost effective manner. It also provided a good opportunity for ART to promote collaboration between trusts in England & Wales with those in Scotland , in order to develop our UK network through Rivers and Fisheries Trusts Scotland (RAFTS) and avoid duplication of resources particularly on science and technical protocols.

The second day of the seminar took in a field visit on the lower Tweed , the highlight of which was a demonstration of the traditional net and coble fishing method near the mouth of the river. This was undertaken in aid of the Tweed Foundation’s tagging and monitoring research programme, and produced the capture of a salmon fresh from the sea, which was subsequently tagged and released unharmed. The day also included visits to show the impact of man-made obstructions on the passage of migratory fish and designs of fish passes to alleviate the problem. A copy of the field visit notes is available from the website by clicking here (File size: 750kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

This seminar formed part of ART’s U.TdR project, which was part funded under the Interreg IIIC programme

Autumn 2005 Seminar and Awards Dinner - “Community Partnerships” - Pembrokeshire
The 2005 Autumn Seminar was held in support of Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust at Wolfs Castle, near Haverfordwest. Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust is part funded by the EU Interreg III A programme under the Celtic Rivers Project to develop working in partnership with the Slaney River Trust in South East Ireland. The project capitalizes on complementary skills and experience in both areas. Learning from one another and sharing skills and knowledge, it is designed to achieve community-development benefits that would otherwise be unaffordable and unattainable. Its targets - environmental, social and economic - are inseparable.

The seminar brought together public and other funding opportunities to develop community led initiatives, and to show how public participation linked to integrated river catchment management is working, not only in Pembrokeshire and the Slaney but across other areas where rivers trusts operate. It also covered the wider perspective of participation across Europe and educational development, in particular the Foundation Degree course started in 2005 at Duchy College , Cornwall under the aegis of Plymouth University and Westcountry Rivers Trust. The field visit to the Pembroke Mill Ponds gave a fascinating insight into public participation in action and the visit to Ian Heaps’ coarse fishery a fine example of rural economy generation. A copy of the field visit notes is available by clicking here (File size: 919kb - File Format: Adobe PDF

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Spring 2006 Seminar - “Can we get a grip? Status and management of the European Eel” - Zoological Society of London, London Zoo
It is probably fair to say that, in terms of migratory fish research and kudos, eels have been a poor relation to salmon, and ART was keen to support Westcountry Rivers Trust and INDICANG in promoting increased focus on improving the management of eel populations by holding a symposium at the prestigious Huxley Lecture Theatre, London Zoo.

Westcountry Rivers Trust joined an Interreg IIIB funded INDICANG programme in 2004, which is a pan-European project aimed at gathering all available information on eels to allow a better understanding of the factors leading to a decline in populations. The partnership has been collecting data for different elements (e.g. male: female ratios, age, parasite loading) in each life history stage (elver, yellow and silver) as well as investigating changes in other indirect factors that have paralleled the decline, like changing land use over time, fishing pressure and changes in access due to migration barriers.

The event attracted a diverse audience who were treated to a detailed account of the current status of eel stocks and exploitation as well as methods of stock assessment and options for future management. For ART it provided an ideal forum for eel fishermen, recreational enthusiasts, eel researchers and general fisheries scientists to meet together effectively for the first time, and a platform for academics, enthusiasts, government agencies and fisheries scientists to become more involved with common interest eel-specific management and conservation issues. Further information on the INDICANG programme is available at www.wrt.org.uk/projects/indicang or www.ifremer.fr/indicang.

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Autumn 2006 Seminar - “Salmonids in the 21st Century” - Newcastle-upon-Tyne
In 2006 ART was invited to host the 15th International Salmonid Conference (ISC) in Newcastle-Gateshead on the River Tyne. Normally held in North America this was the first time this prestigious event has taken place in the United Kingdom . The conference was supported by leading organisations from Europe, the USA and Canada including, the American Fisheries Society, Trout Unlimited and the US Forest Service Department of Agriculture.

The 4 day conference, aimed at the future and management of trout and salmon at both the local and international scale, drew over 200 scientists and practitioners from North America including Alaska , Russia , Iceland , Scandinavia and EU member states. Held at the impressive Baltic Centre overlooking the River Tyne with the conference title “Salmonids in the 21 st Century”, speakers and field visits focussed on four themes:

Speakers on the first two days of the event painted a complex picture and highlighted concerns over salmon survival at sea, habitat degradation and disease, including Gyrodactylus Salaris. However there was much to be positive about with the recovery of the Tyne leading a number of post industrial improving rivers in the North of England including the Mersey, together with many smaller improving rivers in Wales .

Presentations from North America were able to contrast management issues relating to Pacific salmon and other native species and compare surviving pristine habitat with those impacted by the activities of man. 2006 has just recorded one the highest average summer temperatures on record in the UK, some two degrees above the norm and James Savereide of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reminded us that even their vast wild salmon stocks are vulnerable to climate change.

With regard to global warming all was not doom and gloom. In the face of low summer rainfall, heavy abstraction and increasing temperatures the Spanish representative Juan Antonio Lázaro Menéndez explained how salmon and trout in Asturias not only survive, but provide exceptional sport for some 40,000 anglers in this picturesque region of Northern Spain .

The conference field visits taking place on the last two days of the conference were strongly supported by overseas visitors and were hosted by the Tweed Foundation, Eden Rivers Trust and the recently formed Tyne Rivers Trust on their respective rivers. Delegates saw salmon and sea trout being tagged for research on the Tweed, the EA’s Kielder hatchery, fish research traps and counter on the Tyne and habitat restoration and use of underwater “ROV” cameras used for education on the Eden . The field visits were supported with extensive notes of the work being undertaken on the 3 catchments, including a fascinating historical fisheries’ perspective of the Tweed catchment, which are available by clicking here (File size: 7,701kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

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