POLICY

The Nethan-Valley Angling Association has adopted to stock the river with eyed ova, which are planted out into artificial redds & Vibert Wilcox egg boxes. Some alevins have been retained in the hatchery to stock areas which were unsuitable for either of the two aforementioned methods. Another reason for holding back some alevins, is to replace any redds which may be washed out due to severe spate conditions. The alevins will be kept in the hatchery until they use up their yolk sacs, at which time they will be released into many of the small burns throughout the catchment area.

Eyed ova & newly hatched alevins Alevins at 3 weeks old

The eggs are obtained from our brood stock in November. They are then placed into baskets in the hatchery. The eggs are checked on a daily basis and any dead eggs are removed to prevent a fungal build-up, which would result in the death of adjacent eggs. A fortnight after the eggs become eyed-up (the eyes of the little fish can be clearly seen through the membrane of the egg), they are then shocked by removing them from the water and then re-introducing them back into the water again. This will kill off all the weak eggs thus leaving a stronger stock. They are then transported to where they can be planted out. Once at the site their containers are placed into the water to allow the eggs to acclimatize to the new temperature. The containers are then removed and quickly checked for dead eggs (dead eggs are easy to recognise as they turn from a clear orange colour to an opaque milky colour), prior to planting out into artificial redds or eggs boxes.

Dead eggs (notice how milky they are!) Vibert Wilcox egg box

The sites are visited periodically to ensure that the artificial redds have not been destroyed or the egg boxes washed out. Dependent on the water temperature, the eggs should have hatched by mid-March to mid-April. At the end of April the egg boxes will be excavated and checked to assess the survival rate of the eggs. It will also be around this time that any pre-fed fry will be released into the system. This will allow the fry to become naturalised.

By adopting this particular Stocking Policy, we aim to keep the trout population as near to wild as possible. There may be instances in the future, whereby the Association might have to stock with adult fish, in the aftermath of a serious pollution incident for example. These fish would be purchased from a reputable supplier, such as Solway Fisheries, New Abbey, Dumfries. For more information on prices, etc, contact: steve@solwayfishery.co.uk

Steve Cook (centre) of Solway Fishery
delivering adult trout to the Mid Clyde Angling Association 		MCAA & NVAA members pool forces during liberation

The Association does not carry out an ad hoc Stocking Policy. Instead, it carries out electro-fishing surveys of the areas they intend to stock, in an attempt to establish whether or not the area is in need of stocking. An example of one of these areas is above poorly designed road culverts, where it may not be possible for adults to reach. There may be extensive areas, suitable as nurseries, above such culverts which the Association will explore for future possible use.

Electro-fishing a Burn Juveniles caught by electro-fishing

Poorly designed culvert on the Teglium Burn Poorly designed culvert on the Birkwood Burn

April 2005
On the weekend of 23rd - 24th April, we were out liberating 30,000 fry into the burns that we normally stock as part of our four year rolling programme; this being the last year for this particular part of our ongoing management plan. Hopefully now, these burns will become self-sustaining after having blockages etc, removed.


In March 2003, we took some of our younger Members on a river walk. This was to teach them how to take invertebrate samples as well as identify various trees, shrubs and riverplants along the waterline. This is a very important undertaking, as there is no point in stocking a tributary or river if there are very few invertebrates in the system, as young fish may starve. When taking an invertebrate survey, depending on the results, we can look at ways to improve the habitat if the numbers are low. This could be achieved by riverbank and water management.

At a recent fish release exercise in February 2003, a joint effort between Nethan Valley and Mid-Clyde Angling Club, an encounter was made with some rare wild Carmyle Beauties. These Beauties are a natural wild stock and we would advise anyone who "HOOKS" up with them to release them back to the wild immediately, with the care, attention and admiration given to them by the Joint team. The team did actually release fish ("NEVER", I hear you cry!!) but as yet no figures were given. An anonymous source did band the figures, 36/24/36 about while working, which raised some eyebrows in the group and great threats from these rare wild Beauties before they were released back into the wild. (what the wifies think of this admission on return home is anyones guess - obituary notices may be posted soon!)

October 2002
We released 330 eye-tagged Brown Trout Parr into the Logan Water at Waterhead Farm. We will be able to monitor the upstream/downstream migration of these fish. Each of these fish have had the Adipose fin removed for easy identification.

July 2002
Over 10,000 Brown Trout fry were released into the River Nethan between Burnfoot and Netherburn. The fry were between 2 and 3 inches in length and should grow quickly in the wild due to the abundant supply of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.




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