As regular readers will be aware, we’ve been monitoring smolt movements on the River Ayr through Catrine dam in a custom built fish pass and by-wash for several weeks now. Recently, the number of fish we’ve seen with fungal infection prompted us to call in the Fish Health Inspectorate from Aberdeen. This disease occurs naturally in rivers but during low flows and warm weather, it can spread quickly and severely impact smolt survival. Once they reach salt water, the fungus is killed off and the smolts should survive but that relies on them reaching the harbour before they succumb to…

Source: Ayshire River Trust – Smolts affected by Fungal infection