Kyle of Sutherland Fisheries

17/06/2026

Monitoring river temperatures is a top priority for us at Kyle Fisheries. Atlantic salmon begin to experience stress when water temperatures reach around 18°C, making it crucial to keep a close eye on conditions in our local rivers.
Recently, we’ve been gathering data from temperature loggers installed throughout the catchment as part of the Scotland River Temperature Monitoring Network through the Marine Directorate.
These readings help us track trends over time, assess how fish are responding to rising temperatures, and guide our efforts to protect our rivers, such as planting riverside trees to provide shade and help keep the water cool.
An example can be seen in the photos of one of the graphs from a logger in 2025, it displays the average daily river temperatures for one of our loggers on the upper reaches of the River Oykel. It can be seen that in the summer temperatures often got above 18°C with one day even getting above 20°C.

09/06/2026

This summer we are introducing our new team member, Will Brown, as part of Nature Scot and Fisheries Management Scotland’s Working with Rivers internship scheme. Will, originally from Forres, graduated from Glasgow University having completed his degree in marine and freshwater biology. He is greatly interested in freshwater ecology, having researched species like the Atlantic salmon and freshwater pearl mussel, so he is extremely excited to be assisting us in multiple aspects of our work from the management of invasive non-natives, tree planting and electrofishing surveys. Will loves music, art, getting outdoors in nature and, as a keen fisher, you may spot him on the Kyle in his free time or out on a stroll checking out the surrounding hills.

05/06/2026

In 2023, we completed a project on the river Shin to insert large woody structures and gravel to support the juvenile population of the Atlantic salmon and the local population of Freshwater pearl mussels.

Since the project's completion we have carried out electrofishing to monitor the sites and have found an increase in juvenile densities for salmon.

We have also undertaken a project to deploy a series of leaky dams within the catchment, most recently on the tributaries of the river Tirry.

Leaky dams are a more naturalistic method of slowing the flow of water in small watercourses. They help reduce flood peaks during periods of heavy rainfall, in doing this they create habitats, improve water quality, and support the river’s natural functioning.

More information can be found on our story map here - https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8b3dbc7363b541db8055e38f64bd1b82

04/06/2026

Tree nursery and planting

In 2024 we began work on developing a tree nursery to be able to grow our own trees for planting within our catchment.
We also collect seeds from the local area, including some rare species such as Aspen.
We currently have over 15,000 trees growing in our nursery to be used for future projects!

We also have a range of volunteering opportunities at our tree nursery to bring people together and provide education on the importance of native trees being planted by our river edge to support the ecosystem. We can never have enough volunteers so if you are interested, please get in touch with [email protected] or pop into the office in Ardgay.

As our rivers get warmer, thermal stress on Atlantic salmon increases and one of the ways we are trying to resolve this is by tree planting.
Trees planted by the edge of the river and burns are great at keeping our rivers shaded and cool which is important for Atlantic salmon as they need cool, clean water for the best survival.

From 2016 we have planted a total of 74,824 trees across the catchment, all towards restoration.

03/06/2026

We are at the end of the smolt run season. Each year we and our partners undertake trap and trucking to help aid salmon in their migration to the sea as they struggle to get past the dam at Loch Shin without help.
In total we have trapped and moved 8888 smolts from our three traps.

In addition to this, we also undertake a fish rescue each year at the Gleann Beag dam on the River Carron, moving fish from above the dam to below it, much like our trap-and-truck operation at Loch Shin.

This work is incredibly important to us as it helps maintain connectivity within our river systems and supports the long-term conservation of wild Atlantic salmon populations.

We want to thank everyone who provides support during these projects.

Alladale Wilderness Reserve
SSER
Trexecology

02/06/2026

Today we are celebrating World Peatlands Day.
Peatlands in the correct conditions can store vast amounts of carbon, however, as they dry out, they oxidise and release carbon.
The Kyle of Sutherland has been subjected to extensive hill drainage schemes in the past, which has degraded the peatlands. We have been undertaking peatland restoration within our catchment for many years.
Part of our restoration efforts include rewetting and stabilising degraded peatlands to improve water quality and temperature, enhance carbon storage, and reduce downstream spate events.
The pictures show the first peatland restoration projects the Kyle Board and Trust undertook as part of the Pearls in Peril project back in 2017.

01/06/2026

Today is Wild Salmon Day! We want to spend not just the day but the week celebrating our iconic Atlantic salmon and the work we put into protecting and restoring this species!
Watch this space for a new post from us every day.

23/05/2026

World fish migration day
Today is world fish migration day and we want to celebrate our local Atlantic salmon population and all other local migratory species we have in our rivers!
Atlantic salmon go on one of the greatest migratory journeys of all animals. Born in our rivers, they will head out to sea, sometimes for many years, before they make the journey back to the very same river they were born!

Today is about celebrating these incredible fish and all other migratory species and recognising the importance of keeping our rivers connected.
We would love to hear of any memories you have of our great Atlantic salmon! More information can be found here - https://www.worldfishmigrationday.com/

Rivers have always been connecting us, just like they connect fish. When we protect a free-flowing river, we protect not just the fish, we protect everyone. We are connected to fish, rivers and each other. We are culturally and spiritually connected. We are river people.

18/05/2026

Spot the difference!
Our team has been out on the Carron removing American skunk cabbage, an invasive non-native plant that can quickly spread along riverbanks and outcompete native vegetation. While we continue to seek funding for wider invasive species management across the Kyle catchment, tackling skunk cabbage early gives us the best chance of limiting its spread and reducing bigger problems in the future.

08/05/2026

PIT tagging
The smolt trapping season will be ending shortly, so far, our numbers are at 8,684 from all the traps in the catchment.

We have been PIT tagging some of our salmon smolts from the traps. PIT tags are like the microchip used for pets, we will tag the fish and release them downstream as normal. Once these fish return as adults to spawn, their tags can be detected by PIT tag readers installed at the dam.

This work helps us better understand salmon survival, migration, and the effectiveness of our mitigation efforts.