Cameras to help unlock secrets of salmon at sea

A RESEARCH project to conserve North Atlantic salmon using closed-circuit television was launched yesterday.

The 300,000 project, funded by the Scottish Executive, Atlantic Salmon Trust and Norwegian government, will equip a research ship with a prototype trawl net and state-of-the-art CCTV equipment.

The Fisheries Research Service Vessel Scotia will be used to chart the migration routes and distribution of salmon in the Faeroe/Shetland Channel to gather knowledge of the movement of young salmon and the problems they face at sea.

The prototype net will help to determine the effects of commercial fishing on the young salmon.

The second phase of the programme will track the fish in the Greenland Sea this August.

Deputy environment minister Lewis Macdonald said: "The number of Scottish fish returning to the rivers in which they were spawned has fallen by at least 50% since the 1970s.

"The greatest decline has been in the number of early spring salmon.

"Little is known of the location, movement patterns and hazards facing young salmon at sea. This research will provide valuable information on the life cycle of these fish."

The research will be used to inform legislation on species conservation.