Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 10

Report of a three year project carried out by Marine Scotland to investigate the spring component of the River South Esk salmon stock. The following questions were addressed: • In which geographic region of the River South Esk do spring salmon spawn? • How does the status of the juvenile salmon stock vary within the River South Esk and how does this relate to spawning regions used by spring fish? • Is it possible to assess to what extent changes in rod fishing effort have accounted for the declining trend in rod catches of spring salmon? • What proportion of the catch from the coastal net fishery adjacent to the River South Esk was destined to spawn in the River South Esk? The outcome of this investigation is summarised in this report.