Migratory salmonids of the Estuary and Firth of Clyde

Abstract

SynopsisThe paper describes the salmon and sea trout stocks of the rivers entering the sea via the Estuary and Firth of the Clyde including the Rivers Clyde, Leven, the Carts, the rivers of the Ayrshire coast and those entering via the sea lochs and from the Mull of Kintyre. Particular attention is paid to the recent return of salmonids to the Rivers Clyde and Cart, which have been denied to migratory species for over a century because of pollution in the upper Clyde Estuary. The changing environmental conditions, which have made the reappearance of migratory salmonids possible, are described and the future importance of the fishery assessed.