| The
River Nith
Restocking Programme
was
started by the Nith Fishings Improvements Association in the
1930s. At that time, the annual catch of salmon on the Nith
and its catchment had dropped to under 50 fish.
Through restocking, the fish gradually returned. The Programme
is now operated by the District Salmon Board staff.
The
runs peaked in the 1960s and dropped off in the wake of the
UDN outbreak. Things have improved again and the
Nith can rightly claim to be one of the few river in the country
which is showing increasing numbers of salmon, grilse and
sea trout from year to year. The 10-year catch average
(1992 to 2001) for the river system is now
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Collecting
and storing the brood fish
This
begins in September
or October, depending on weather and river conditions, when
the staff collect brood fish by electro-fishing feeder streams.
Captured
fish are taken to the hatchery, where cocks and hens are seperated
in large tanks - carefully marked to record their source.
Hatched fry are eventually returned to the river to that same
source.
Stripping
and fertilising the eggs
When
Jim and his staff judge they
are ready the eggs are stripped from the hens before being
fertilised by milt from the cock fish. Interested visiting
anglers always remark on
- The
amount of eggs which can be taken from one fish!
- The
condition of the fish after stripping.
As one observer put it "It looks like a burst rubber
tube".
- How
the fish recover quickly. Stripped fish regain their bulk
within about 25 minutes by taking in water to fill the
void left by the removal of the eggs
All
of the fish used in the hatchery process are returned to the
river after a short recovery period.
The
hatching process
After
fertilisation, the eggs are spread out in special mesh trays
to await hatching. This is a crucial stage of the process
- with the eggs being inspected 'round-the-clock' to ensure
that dead eggs are removed to prevent disease spreading through
the entire stock. Water temperatures are carefully controlled.
After
about 6 weeks the eggs hatch out to give fry. At this stage,
they are fed by nutrients added to the water which flows through
the trays
Reintroduction
to the river
When the fry are ready for the river - after a strange
calculation between the number of days since hatching and
the river temperature - they are carefully transported to
the river.
The
various batches of fry are released into the feeder streams
from which the
parent stock were taken. |
Head
Bailliff Barry Young stripping a large hen fish
Jim
strips a hen fish under the watchful eye of local angler
Willie Pagan
Inspecting the eggtray daily
Dead eggs, which turn white have to be removed
to prevent disease spreading.
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