Europe’s largest salmon tracking research was launched by the charity Atlantic Salmon Trust in April to discover why wild salmon numbers are going down.
Moray Offshore Windfarm East Ltd, known as Moray East, donated £300,000 to support the Missing Salmon Project, as reported in EnergyVoice.com. The funds will go towards the project’s equipment.
The initiative focuses on the problems affecting Atlantic salmon on their journey from the river headwaters to the ocean, by tracking smolts, as they leave the Moray Firth’s river network for the sea. This is the route taken by 20% of all salmon that leave the UK.
At the mouth of the Firth river, a 65 mile-wide ‘accoustic gateway’ will be installed to track the fish.
Talking to the site, Atlantic Salmon Trust spokesman, Mark Bilsby said: “The tracking project in the Moray Firth will be the furthest that we have been able to follow the progress of young salmon and will greatly expand our understanding of smolt behaviour and survival in the freshwater and coastal environment.
“It will contribute to The Missing Salmon Project which aims to ensure that more fish survive their perilous journey. The information collected will give fishery managers and policy makers the information they need to help protect this iconic species”.
The project needs to hit a £1 million target by the end of 2018 to carry out the scheme, of which it is crowdfunding for.
