17/12/2010

 

The Autumn egg stripping of the salmon and trout is mostly finished now and the fertilized eggs are in their silos and troughs for the Winter. These are fed continuously by water direct from the stream, keeping them at the same temperature and in the same quality of water as the eggs laid naturally in the Carron tributaries. It’s already a cold December, so the eggs may hatch later than normal, as their rate of development is determined entirely by water temperature. This presumably ensures that the wild fish will reach the end of the yolk-sac stage as the stream’s productivity is increasing in Spring and more food is becoming available for the fry.

 

24/12/2010

 

The Carron is suffering its coldest Winter since 1947 – the lochs and burns are freezing over and the hatcheries are under several inches of snow. As long as the water supply keeps moving it won’t freeze, but it’s been below zero for days and the ice is constantly building. It’s a round the clock job keeping the water inlets free of ice as fresh ice has to be removed every few hours. The eggs and fish are fine, despite air temperatures dipping well below -10, as long as the water keeps flowing, bringing fresh oxygen. Neither the salmon nor trout will feed at these temperatures, but will eat again when the water temperature rises.

 

A bold otter has been repeatedly trying to break in to one of the fry tanks, despite added security measures and more than enough seafood in the loch, and a dipper is hanging round at the broodstock ponds – about the only place left it can find running water. A robin also appears each time I visit, enjoying the warm air under the pick-up.