The ART Spring Seminar held in Berwick-upon-Tweed in May, hosted by the Tweed Foundation and part funded by EU Interreg IIIC, Union des Terres de Rivieres, proved a great success and focussed entirely on fisheries science and its application.

Otters & salmon can mix!

A pair of otters fed and played for half an hour around the footings of the old road bridge- Berwick-upon-Tweed

The addition of a Dennel Pass on this bridge apron on the Wooler Water has opened up new areas to spawning

The Tweed Foundation now have their sights set on easing this obstruction further up the Wooler Water at Haughhead Ford

Participants enjoyed wonderful spring weather, excellent papers, first class food and fascinating field visits. Before the event even started, a pair of otters were observed feeding on crustaceans under the town bridge for over half an hour. This set the tone for the three days which included workshops for new and emerging Rivers Trusts by ART’s auditors Mazars, the Association's AGM and insights into the highly regarded work of the Tweed Foundation, with informative visits to the mighty river and its tributaries. This included the timely capture of a salmon from an historic netting station in the town, as part of a tagging study being conducted by Tweed Foundation scientists.

Developments in England, Wales & Scotland
Dr Dafydd Evans the EA’s Head of Fisheries set the scene in England & Wales, setting out the implications of the Salmon Stock Conservation Review, including reference to the present estimated exploitation by the Irish Drift Nets. The Scottish perspective was provided by Ronald Campbell of the Tweed Foundation, Sarah Ann Bayley of Rivers and Fisheries Trusts Scotland (RAFTS) and Malcolm Beveridge of the Scottish Fisheries Coordination Centre. Other excellent presentations included the Westcountry Rivers Trust’s Atlantic Salmon Arc Project (ASAP) on genetics as well as the innovative catchment surveying and mapping programmes being undertaken by the Eden Rivers Trust, incorporating both aerial photography and extensive fry surveys.

Disturbing
Perhaps the most disturbing of the presentations was that given by Andrew Moore of CEFAS on The Impact of Environmental Levels of Persistent Aquatic Contaminants on Atlantic Salmon. The four common pesticides studied were diazinon, carbofuran, atrazine and cypermethrin, which are all known to be contaminants of both ground and surface waters in the UK. The research focused primarily upon the impact of these agricultural pesticides on sensitive stages in the life history of salmonids, in particular reproduction, embryo survival and development, the parr-smolt transformation and marine survival.

Research conclusions
The main conclusion was that the present levels of certain pesticides in the aquatic environment may be too high and as such may impose a significant biological risk to migratory salmonid populations. Further, contaminants may operate in an additive or synergistic manner increasing their impact on sensitive stages in the life cycle of salmonids. The freshwater history of the juvenile salmonids in terms of exposure to aquatic contaminants is critical to their subsequent survival in the marine environment. Modelling the effects of the pesticides at the population levels has also indicated that exposure at the critical and sensitive stages in the life cycle may significantly reduce the number of returning adults and compromise the spawning biomass of many populations.

For more information on this and other seminar papers check out the ART website:
http://www.associationofriverstrusts.org.uk/news/seminars

Dr Ronald Campbell of the Tweed Foundation demonstrates the value of the traditional net & coble method of salmon capture for a "tag and release" research programme

“More Science”

Japan - Researchers from the University of Tokyo succeeded in grafting non differentiated sexual cells from trout on salmon. 30 days later the salmon were producing trout sperm which fertilized trout ovules. The researchers explained that this technique could probably be used to preserve threatened species.

“Source- Nature 05/08/04”

Building on the success of ART’s inaugural awards ceremony in 2004 the Trust is opening up the nomination process and inviting you to help mark recognition of excellence and achievement in the rivers trust movement. ART welcomes your nomination (individual and/or organisation) in one or more of the following award categories in 2005, together with a brief reason.

Nominations forms can be downloaded from the ART website:
http://www.associationofriverstrusts.org.uk/news/seminars
or obtained from the Trust office and should be returned to ART by e-mail or post by 31st August 2005. The 2005 Awards Dinner will be held in conjunction with the ART Autumn Seminar in Pembrokeshire 27th & 28th September.

ART is extremely grateful to the sponsors of these prestigious awards carrying a combined value of more than £12,000

Join ART at the Wolfscastle Hotel, in Pembrokeshire for the 2005 Autumn Seminar and Awards Dinner. The theme for the seminar is “Community Partnerships” and is being hosted by the Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust and supported by the Celtic Rivers Trust Partnership and Interreg IIIA, via the Welsh Assembly Government

Seminar details will be available shortly from:
Alan Hawken (ART Secretary)
by e-mail alan@associationofriverstrusts.org.uk
or direct telephone: (01726) 822343

Alternatively, you can download your own copy of the seminar details from our website at:
http://www.associationofriverstrusts.org.uk/news/seminars

The UK is faced with the challenge of implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the most significant and innovative piece of water legislation to emerge from Europe in the past 30 years.

The challenge
Meeting this challenge will involve significant shifts in public behaviour, industrial practice and the way the urban and rural environment is managed. Achieving such change in a cost-effective manner will require a range of approaches, many of which go beyond the regulatory role of the Environment Agency (EA). ART believes that Rivers Trusts will have a key role to play in the public participation, planning and delivery elements of the Directive and is working closely with the EA, Defra and other NGO’s including WWF to help ensure its successful implementation.

A strategic framework
WFD will establish a strategic framework for managing the water environment. It establishes a common approach to protecting, and setting environmental objectives for, all ground-waters and surface waters. For surface water, the Directive requires that environmental objectives are based on the chemical and, more significantly, ecological status of the water body. For groundwater, quantitative and chemical objectives must be set.
The Directive also requires that statutory strategic management plans be produced for each River Basin District (RBD). These plans, known as River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), will set out how the objectives for all the water bodies within each river basin are to be achieved. The plans will be based upon a detailed analysis of the pressures on the water bodies within each river basin and an assessment of their impacts. These plans will provide the focus for public and stakeholder consultation.

Characterisation
The process of River Basin Characterisation (RBC) identifies water bodies at risk of not achieving the objectives in the Directive as a result of a wide range of human pressures. These pressures include point source discharges, diffuse source pollution, water abstractions, water flow regulation, morphological alterations and other anthropogenic pressures.

Table 1 shows, this initial characterisation identified the majority of water bodies as being at risk of failing to achieve the Directive’s objectives due to one or more anthropogenic pressures.

Pressures	Rivers	Lakes	Estuaries	Coastal Waters	Groundwater
Point discharges	23.1	20.1	48.5	18.2	3.9
Diffuse pollution	82.4	53	25	24.2	75.3
Abstraction	10.7	2.1	14	N/A	26.1
Physical changes	48.2	59.3	89.7	77.8	N/A
Alien species	21.1	9.3	36.8	45.5	N/A
Overall % of water bodies at risk	92.7	84	98.5	84.8	75.3

Table 1: Summary of initial characterisation results

For more information on the Water Framework Directive, visit the Environment Agency’s website at: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wfd

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