21st July: Why Loch Ness hydro schemes could be killing off Scotland’s wild salmon

A fisheries board says the use of pumped hydro storage should be temporarily halted in Scotland.

It has been described as a “gold rush”, but conservationists on Loch Ness believe pump hydro storage schemes could be killing off endangered wild salmon.

Ness District Salmon Fishery Board warned these schemes should be temporarily halted, as salmon numbers could be declining because of drastically altered water levels.

The board has asked the Scottish Government to step in and order the schemes to be stopped until more research is carried out into what impact they may be having on biodiversity.

Pump hydro storage splits water into two reservoirs at different elevations.

When demand on the electricity network is low, surplus electricity is used to pump the water into the higher of the two reservoirs – when the demand increases, the stored water is released into the lower reservoir, generating electricity.