Hebrides and Sutherland based salmon farming business Loch Duart lent their boat and skippering expertise to help a wild sea trout tracking project in Loch Laxford this week. The West Sutherland Fisheries Trust project aims to track tagged sea trout through the Laxford system to see how they use the habitat. Loch Duart (and the previous farm owners, J Johnston and sons) have been farming salmon in Loch Laxford for about 30 years and Loch Duart values the work that West Sutherland Fisheries Trust does in the area.
On Monday 30th October 2017, the initial stage got underway with deployment of ‘listening stations’ and an acoustic sounder, to check how well the signals emitted from acoustic tags on fish will be heard in the Laxford area. Landing-craft vessel the Lady Ann and Loch Duart staff helped West Sutherland Fisheries Trust and the University of Glasgow deploy the kit, which involved some precision boat driving skills.
The Trust is seeking funding for the full scale project. Following this range-test and any successful funding, Loch Duart is looking forward to helping the Trust further with the initiative.