Turning the tide for Scottish wild salmon
Salmon management:
Using innovative techniques to improve salmon management, SSE Renewables is responsible for mitigating the impact of hydropower on salmon in water catchments in the north of Scotland. This can include trapping young salmon (called smolts) in spring during their seaward migration and transporting them downstream, to allow safe passage past dams.
In 2022, to improve the number of smolts reaching the sea, SSE Renewables took over the management of the Tirry trapping site on the Shin water catchment area. SSE Renewables’s dedicated hydro-environment team, which includes a full-time fisheries biologist, has implemented several innovative changes, including the use of a motorised trap, an automatic release cage to preserve the nocturnal migration of smolts, and rock-filled bags to direct river flow and smolts into the trap.
The total number of smolts captures increased to 4,000 in 2022 and 4,200 in 2023, almost four times higher than the 10-year average capture rate. Improving the number of smolts reaching the sea increases the likelihood of more adults returning and has contributed to higher numbers in the catchment area in recent years, which is a positive trend at a time when the wild salmon population across Scotland is under pressure.
Full details of the project can be found in the SSE Renewables Sustainability Report 2023