Fish Counter results for 2008 (attached): The Ettrick total was not good, only just above the number of Salmon needed to meet the spawning target, so concerns over the state of the collapsing cauld on the ability of Salmon to find the fish pass are increasing. It was, however, a good year for trout. On the Gala, an unexpectedly high total, half of which were Salmon, so  the 700 spawning target was greatly exceeded.

Fish Counter results for November 2008 :

Ettrick: After the very good October count, November was not great, but there is generally an inverse relationship between October and November - the better one is, the poorer the other is.

Gala: Another apparently very good total, for November, but until there is a longer time series it is not really possible to say what is good or what is bad. As the minimum spawning requirement for the Gala (based on the "wetted area" that has to be stocked with eggs) is 684 salmon, this year's total will well surpass this level.

 

The numbers are on the attachment.

An above average October for the Ettrick counter and a huge number up the Gala.   more »

The Ettrick counter again gave a below average monthly total for September, though not the lowest recorded. However, just under 1200 have gone up from  the 1st of October to date (7th October). Some 600 went up on the 6th of October and around 500 have gone up today (7th). There are a lot of fish below the cauld at present.

The Gala counter had a good total for September, better than last years.#

(Figures are on the attachment)

 

 

Results for the Ettrick and Gala fish counters attached. The Gala counts are matching last years' quite closely, which seems to show that the fish have a particular pattern that repeats each season.

Fish Counter Results for July: With periods of both high and low flow during the month, it is difficult to characterise conditions. The results for the Ettrick are below average again but of interest to see a run into the Gala for a second July.

Fish Counter results for June 2008:  Still no fish on the Gala, but some on the Ettrick, though nothing major despite the spates. See the attachment for the figures.

This year at the Kelso Show (25th - 26th July)  we will have the "spare" fish counter on display in our tent, to show how it works, so come along if you would like to find out more about VAKI fish counters.

 

Low water levels gave a low count at the Ettrick counter and nothing has as yet has attempted the Gala fish pass - see attachment for the figures.

Fish counter results 2008 Jan - Apr   more »

Fish Counter Results December   more »

November 2007

Ettrick Counter : The November total was below average, though numbers in this month are very variable, ranging from 400 to 3000. The year total will also be below average though the loss of June and July counts means that an exact total is not available. Under normal conditons, 2-400 fish could have been expected in those months, but they were wet this year which might mean more ran than usual.

Gala Counter : The first full year looks as if it will come to about 1600 fish, of which many will be Brown-trout. Seeing this run of Brown-trout coming out of the main channel and in to a tributary to spawn re-inforces the idea that they are migratory too, though within the river rather than going to sea.

The counter file is attached

Ronald N. B. Campbell

Tweed Foundation Biologist

Ettrick Fish Counter :  The good count for October did not make up for the poor September count (which was half of its average). The low flows that were a problem in September continued through most of October - and in to November as well. The very high numbers being shown as "up" for October on the screen in the Viewing Centre at Philiphaugh were produced by the fact that "Rejected" events are being stored for manual examination due to some software glitches but it was not realised at the time that this meant that they were being added to the "Up" totals on display. A note about this has now been added to the display.

Gala Fish Counter : While an apparently good number of fish were counted over October they were mostly small, at less than 35cms or so and can therefore be regarded as Brown-trout. The Gala was very low over the month and larger fish would have had a struggle even to reach the cauld.

(Counter file is attached)

Ronald N. B. Campbell, Tweed Foundation Biologist

Fish Counter Results for September : (see attachment)

The Ettrick count was well down for this month, at almost exactly half the average, which could be expected due to low water conditions. However, some 1500 then went up in the first four days of October, the most rapid passage we've seen yet, but without any real rise in the water.  This rush of fish also made it easy to do an efficiency check, watching the fish on the video and seeing how many of those going up were actually registered by the counter. This really needs large numbers of fish passing to do properly so these few days were ideal - and gave a 100% result. What may have made the fish get a move on was some cold nights as they also use water temperature as cue to tell them that spawning is coming on. Whatever the reason, it certainly made for good viewing at the Visitor Centre.

The Gala count continued to increase, despite the low flows. Obviously, as this is the first year, there is nothing to compare this year's counts with, nor has there been any long period of high water to really bring fish up.

Ronald N. B. Campbell

Tweed Foundation Biologist

Fish Counter Results for August 2007   more »

The Ettrick counter was out of action, again, for the whole of this month, and so has missed the fish that would be expect to have travelled up the Ettrick on the high water. The Gala counter, however, was in operation   more »

A respectable total for the month   more »

Despite the very low water levels, a good number of fish got up the Ettrick and through the counter in April, 18 of which were definitely Salmon. There were also two Grayling !

Nothing up the Gala Water yet.

Figures are in the attachment.

Fish Counter Results to the end of March :

Not much going up, but not much expected this early in the year. Of the five fish counted up the Ettrick, four were trout. Two Salmon, however, were reported to have been caught already in the Ettrick, which must have gone up before the counter was re-installed on the 22nd March.

To get the attachment with the results, click on the attachment below

Update on the Ettrick and Gala counters.   more »

The results from the fish counter on the Ettrick for December 2006 are attached below.   more »

The November results for the Ettrick Fish Counter 5.pdf (81k) are in the file attachment Ettrick Fish Counter 5.pdf (81k) ...   more »