As normal in May, the Grannom hatch has commenced and this evening and smolts are often seen rising for these emerging caddis on the Ayr. It is both fascinating and worrying as there are still hundreds of smolts in the voes but we are attempting to encourage them out overnight, bypassing the turbine house (which isn’t operating at the moment due to low flows).
Smolts in the lade at Catrine
The smolt screens have been sealed so there should be no further smolts entering the voes. Ayrshire Rivers Trust staff are monitoring this situation carefully over the next few weeks and if further improvements are necessary, they will inform the operators and regulator. In the meantime, the smolt trap has been improved and ART will resume trapping this week.
Here is an short video filmed this evening by Ayrshire Rivers Trust that I’m sure most will find interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKA889qshLY (Creative Commons license)
