impressive mouth full of teeth compared to our native atlantic salmon.
Professor Eric Verspoor, director of the RLI intends to use Inverness College’s state of the art molecular genetics laboratory to increase awareness of this potentially invasive non-native salmon.
Numbers of non-native pink salmon spotted in Scotland are on the increase but the full extent of their invasion and the impact on native Atlantic salmon stocks is unknown.
The RLI is exploring using DNA shed into the environment (eDNA) by the non-native salmon, to help understand the scale of their spread and breeding to produce viable off-spring in Scottish rivers. The information will be used to advise on the future threat to native Atlantic salmon.
Professor Verspoor will deliver a talk on pink salmon at Scotland’s Salmon Festival’s International Science Conference on Thursday 31st August entitled ‘Evil Invaders or Welcome Immigrants: Pink Salmon in Scotland and Western Europe”. He will also give a public lecture on the evening of the 31st entitled “A natural history of Scotland’s Atlantic salmon clans and the unnatural history of its pink cousins”. Tickets are still available at www.scotlandsalmonfestival.org.
The festival also includes a film night at Eden Court Theatre on Tuesday 29th August, tours on Alexander Grant – Inverness’ famous fishing rod maker and speycaster – at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery on Thursday 31st August, and Inverness Angling Club’s Centenary Speycasting Tournament on the River Ness on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September. The speycasting tournament will coincide with a free family fair at Bught Park, which runs from 11am to 4pm on both days and includes cookery demonstrations by top chefs at the Marine Harvest Theatre Kitchen, a food and craft marquee featuring local exhibitors, plus children’s activities including face painting, a bouncy castle, arts and crafts, story-telling, electrofishing, casting lessons and invertebrate trays – read more.
