It is possible to reveal fish life history from scales and scale reading is a key component of many fisheries management and research programmes. The Tweed Foundation previously delivered a two-day scale reading training course and SFCC are currently adapting this training for online delivery. Presentations from this training are available on our Slideshare page.
Fish Scale Photograph Library – Flickr
The aim of these online libraries is to provide material that anyone learning about scale reading can use to familiarise themselves with the various growth patterns that can be seen in scales and to practise recognising and recording them. Digitising and sharing scale images publicly also serves to preserve and raise awareness of historical material. These images also provide a reference of remarkable salmonid life histories, many of which are rarely observed in the present environment.
The Annotated Images – Atlantic Salmon – Illustrations Album is a small selection of scale photographs with the readings shown on them along with some additional notes. It includes some very unusual growth patterns that are not seen today but help to illustrate points generally.
The Annotated Images – Atlantic Salmon – Readings Album is a larger selection of scale photographs in pairs, with the first photo of each pair showing only the scale while the second has the reading indicated on it with lines. The reading notation is shown under the first of the pair as a guide to what should be looked for on the scale picture. Different forms and colours of lines indicate different features on the second photographs of each pair:
All Photographs are scanned from the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory Library (Marine Scotland Science). © Crown Copyright. Material is re-usable for any purpose under the terms of the Open Government Licence: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
