[Hamish Young]

Long long ago, in a different county far far away..... I worked on the River Lochy for three seasons.

In some ways the River and it's location are part of who I am,  so I continue to follow the highs and lows the Lochy experiences and today via the wonders of social media my attention has been drawn to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MByMflA1IFA&feature=youtu.be

Watch and discuss 

H

[Gavin Stevenson]

Interesting idea but I do have to question how these fish will be fed and how different from commercial fish farms. Also are we not potentially weakening the gene pool by bypassing the natural selection and survival of the fittest process

[Derek Roxborough]

Is it legal? or is God alive and well and working at the River Lochy? Derek Roxborough

[James Laraway]

I quite like the idea.

However, but putting the smolts in sea cages will that not just cause yet more sealice problems ?!?!?? Surely it is playing into the salmon farming industries hands ?

However..... why not try out the idea on a totally barren ( salmon free) river to see if it helps first ?

With the wild salmon population decreasing at some stage in the future someone with enough money is bound to follow the Icelandic 'method' of ranching salmon to provide sport for fishermen....

[Derek Roxborough]

Some salient points there James,but surely it's a bit iffy taking smolts on their run to sea, they are a bit fragile at that stage,as you say playing in to the hands of the salmon farmers  re lice, Derek Roxborough

[Hamish Young]

Interesting stuff chaps

To an extent Gavin has a point about the 'natural selection', Derek isn't far off the mark on the God quip  and James yours is a fair point about the barren river and that's sort of already been done by Bob Kindness in the past.

For me it does smack of 'desparate measures' and I think that is the reality,  the Lochy is on its arse good and proper so anything has to be worth a punt. But my spidey sense is going off here..... how long before Marine Scotland take an active interest in the efforts of initiatives such as this and 'regulate' the activities being undertaken
I suspect it wont be very long 

H

[AiberdeenLoon]

I admire them for trying but this is a bit like pouring water into a leaking bucket, the effluent and diseases/parasites from the fish farms along with the destruction of the North Atlantic by overfishing surely must be dealt with.  Salmon farming has never been properly addressed from an environmental perspective by the Scottish government.  I've lived in Alaska and seen Salmon runs you wouldn't believe until you've seen them with your own eyes.  It makes me depressed when I see the state of things at home.