Anglers across the north-east are on alert after an invasive species of salmon has been identified in Aberdeen’s two main rivers. So far this fishing season, two Pacific pink salmon have been caught in the River Dee and another two caught in the River Don.
A further three were netted in the Spey near Elgin, and three more of the invasive fish were caught as far north as Thurso.
As the name suggests, pink salmon are native to Pacific Ocean waters but have spread to parts of northern Europe after being released into rivers in Russia in the 1960s.
In 2017, a large number of pink salmon were recorded in Scottish rivers, and, again, an unusually high number of the species were recorded two years later in 2019.
This pattern is due to the two-year life cycle of the fish and conservationists were already anticipating a resurgence of reports this year as a result.