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Post by terry on May 2, 2024 10:57:53 GMT
Figures supplied from Fishtek Consulting from the counter at Totnes weir on the Dart.
Total count - 522 fish with just 58 possibly attributable to Salmon the remainder (464) to sea trout.
Total for 2022 was 1027 so a drop of nearly 50%
Sad times indeed.
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Post by johnesmithson on May 3, 2024 7:52:57 GMT
Worrying indeed Terry, especially when you consider that there was good running water from July onwards. It certainly tallies with my experience of walking some of the upper tributaries of the Dart in good conditions at spawning time and seeing neither fish nor redds in any area. Things aren’t nearly as bad on the Teign, so I sense there must be problems which are specific to the Dart catchment or its estuary.
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Post by boisker on May 3, 2024 11:23:29 GMT
There were a number of years a few years ago where the virus ( too lazy to look its name up😏) badly affected returning adults, which would have had a really significant impact on adults managing to reach the upper river. Hopefully it’s partly connected to those years of poor recruitment and the population will pick up again…. Assuming there are no major virus episodes for a few years.
Worrying though ☹️
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Post by johnesmithson on May 3, 2024 21:30:48 GMT
That’s a very good point Boisker. The upstream WBT population seems healthy enough and with some sea-going genes in them I can see no reason why the river’s migratory trout shouldn’t eventually recover. I’m an optimist at heart!
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Post by terry on May 4, 2024 9:49:27 GMT
Yes a very good point in deed Boisker I do remember the years when a virus was prevalent and some salmon especially looked in a sorry state.
I too like a bit of optimism these days so we live in hope.
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