River Deveron, Scotland
During 2016 and 2017 the Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust have been investigating technology available to count adult salmon and sea trout entering the river Deveron. Accurate and fast estimates of salmon and sea trout runs are required to help manage stocks sustainably and will in turn help the rural economy.
The technology options available to us are reduced, due to counting equipment traditionally being attached to large structures such as crump weirs, that are not present on the Deveron main stem. For this reason we have completed two local trials of Multibeam Hydro acoustic Counters (ARIS Sonar), which have low engineering and structural requirements. Hydro acoustic counters use sound wave technology to emit pulses of sound in the water and listen for the returning echo, much like an echosounder on a boat. The counter then converts the returning echo to image data and uses complex software to identify and measure fish. To date we have been very pleased with the results of the trials and are currently in discussions with the River Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board and other stakeholders to take the project forward during 2018.
Sonar footage of an adult salmon ascending the river Deveron during November 2017 – Click Here
