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Protected cormorants blamed for the demise of trout
fishing on Loch Leven, under the management of SNH
James Irvine
Teviot Scientific, Cultybraggan Farm, Comrie,
Perthshire
Filed 04 Jun 06
©www.land-care.org.uk
Scotland's world famous trout fishing loch - Loch
Leven - is no longer to hold such national show pieces as the Scottish
National Fly-fishing Championships finals, the oldest national fly-fishing
event in the world. For Scotland's many thousands of fishing enthusiasts
- and Scotland's fly-fishing visitors - the bad news is that most
of the 30-strong fleet of boats will no longer be required and will
be disposed of next winter. Loch Leven's trout fishing is in serious
decline.
So how did this sad state of affairs come about?
Last year around 100,000 trout were introduced
to Loch Leven, Perthshire, by landowner Jamie Montgomery of Kinross
Estate. But this year he will not do so, on account of the severe
financial losses that have been incurred.
According to Mr Montgomery, a major part of the
problem is the invasion of the loch by cormorants, a seabird with
a ravenous appetite for fish and great expertise in catching them.
Cormorants are big 'sea-crows', characterised by their long necks
and their habit of standing with their wings held out to dry.
Up to 700 cormorants have been counted on Loch
Leven during the winter months - even although the loch is some
20 miles inland. A recent survey has estimated that they eat up
to 123,000 trout every year. This is roughly equivalent to the entire
stock of brown trout being released each year.
Cormorants have an 'amber' grade of protection,
according to the RSPB website. This means that they can only be
controlled under licence. Requests for a licence to shoot up to
50 cormorants per annum on Loch Leven have been refused by the Scottish
Executive (1).
When trying to understand how such an unfortunate
situation could arise I contacted RSPB Scotland. I specifically
asked for clarification as to
why cormorants carried 'amber' protection status
when they were being reported as being so numerous, not only on
Loch Leven but on other inland waters as well?
and
how did RSPB reconcile the severe damage caused
by cormorants to Scotland's no 1 country sport, fishing: an activity
that the Scottish Executive is so keen to promote?
I got the following response in the form of an
email:
Please find below a quote attributable to a
spokesman for RSPB Scotland.
"The news that Loch Leven Fisheries is to cease stocking
with brown trout because it is no longer economically viable to
do so is a blow to the local economy and the cultural heritage
of the area. However, RSPB Scotland believes that to lay the blame
for the historical declines in brown trout solely on cormorants
is an over simplification of the issue. There is a
long history and a significant amount of research has been done
to understand the reason for the declines. SNH, who manage the
Loch Leven National Nature Reserve, are best placed to advise
on the details."
The RSPB spokesperson failed to make any response
to my first question as to why cormorants had 'amber' protection
status when their high numbers were causing such havoc. If amber
status was awarded because of the small numbers of breeding sites
in the UK, the RSPB could have provided the evidence to support
that with actual figures, but they chose not to. There is room for
doubt about the scarcity of breeding grounds for cormorants in view
of the fact that lakes in England apparently have similar problems
with these birds as does Loch Leven.
Furthermore, the spokesperson's response was less
than satisfactory in that it avoided facing up to the problem by
indicating that other factors may also be at play. That may be so,
but the evidence about the severe damage done by cormorants is irrefutable.
RSPB could do itself a favour by answering reasonable
questions directly, and not in such a devious manner.
Next step is to ask Scottish Natural Heritage
(SNH) as to how they view this problem, including how long they
have been responsible for the management of Loch Leven as part of
a National Nature Reserve. Were they the ones who refused (via the
Scottish Executive) the application of a licence to shoot as few
as up to 50 cormormants on Loch Leven per year, when some 700 of
them were eating the total stock replacements at huge cost?
On the face of it there would appear to be a gross
imbalance in the management of this icon of Scottish country sport,
with "conservation" at loggerheads with the promotion
of tourism and healthy outdoor activities, let alone basic and "sustainable"
economics.
Is this an example of single-species conservation
at its worst? (2)
©www.land-care.org.uk
References
1. Montgomery, Jamie (2006). Loch Leven Fisheries
- Announcement; 31st May 2006 Click
Here to View pdf
www.lochlevenfisheries.co.uk
2. Irvine, James (2006). Comments on Roger Wheater/Alex
Hogg session: "Enhancing our environment or single species
priorities" SCA 3rd annual conference, 12th April 2005
"Getting the balance right; Rural Scotland 2005"
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 27 Apr 06, www.land-care.org.uk
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