ART biologists surveying a stretch of the Dippol Burn today.
In 2016 and 2017, Ayrshire Rivers Trust stocked trout sourced from the Lugar into the Dippol Burn near Auchinleck. The original trout were lost around 40 years ago through a pollution incident and with 50′ falls downstream, the burn couldn’t repopulate naturally.
The only fish that ART found had survive before 2016 included Stickleback, minnows and stoneloach….all pollution tolerant species
ART did this under license from MSS and translocated an undisclosed number of parr and adult trout to kick start the recovery process. ‘Auchinleck Decides’ supported this project as did Auchinleck Angling Association. ART are pleased to report that their assessments this year (today) found juvenile trout and adults surviving and doing well. The burn is a rich environment with plenty of excellent habitat and good feeding. Through time, the population should develop and increase and so long as pollution is kept in check, they will thrive.
The first generation of naturally produced juvenile trout in the Dippol Burn for decades
An adult trout that was introduced to the Dippol by ART in 2017. The anal fin is showing damage associated with spawning last year
ART have more assessments planned for next week along with a section of green bank engineering to stop erosion taking place but after that, the recovery will be allowed to continue naturally without further intervention. Periodic assessment will continue and ART will keep these pages informed of progress from time to time.
