Publication Abstract

The spawning habitat requirements of sea trout: a mulitscale approach

A.M. Walker, R.A. Bush and B.D. Bayliss

The aim of this paper is to further our understanding of the spawning habitat requirements of sea trout, in order to facilitate assessment of spawning habitat availability and prediction of possible impacts of terrestrial and aquatic environment management schemes on these habitats. Data used are from surveys of sea trout spawning in rivers of the Southern, South-West and North-West regions of England and of central Wales conducted over the period 2000-2004. The results are presented of analyses conducted at three geographical scales: 1. microhabitat – the area within 1 m of the redd and which describes the habitat used by spawning fish; 2. reach-scale – comparison between the habitat characteristics of sites used by spawning fish and those of the surrounding area (10’s to 100’s of m) to explain why sea trout chose these sites; and 3. catchment-wide – the distribution of sea trout spawning throughout a catchment assessed in relation to GIS-derived physical data. The utility of these various survey methods and the results of the analyses are discussed in relation to the freshwater environment and fisheries management.

Reference:

A.M. Walker, R.A. Bush and B.D. Bayliss (2003) The spawning habitat requirements of sea trout: a mulitscale approach. Sea Trout Symposium, 6th - 8th July 2004, Cardiff, Wales, UK