NatureScot Commissioned Report 884: An update of the review on the impacts of piscivorous birds on salmonid populations and game fisheries in Scotland

SNH Commissioned Report 884 front cover

Freshwater fisheries – salmon and sea trout angling – are estimated to be worth £87 million per year to the Scottish economy. The potential impacts of piscivorous (fish-eating) birds on wild and stocked fisheries have thus been the focus of many studies – both in Scotland and internationally.

This report updates an earlier review of these impacts. It also contains population estimates, and associated confidence limits, for four species of piscivorous birds. These are given for both Scotland as a whole and for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) planning regions.

The four bird species are:

  • red-breasted merganser
  • goosander
  • cormorant
  • heron

These estimates can be used when making decisions about licensing the control of piscivorous birds to limit the potential losses incurred by fisheries.

Published: 2016
Pages: 76

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Publication 2016 - NatureScot Commissioned Report 884 - An update of the review on the impacts of piscivorous birds on salmonid populations and game fisheries in Scotland

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