Fisheries Management Plan (FMP)
In Scotland, District Salmon Fishery Boards (DSFBs) are legal statutory bodies that are charged with the responsibility to protect and improve salmon and sea trout fisheries within legally-defined salmon fishery districts. More information about DSFBs and their duties can be found here.
DSFBs and their respective Fisheries Trusts will use evidence-based management and monitoring work to highlight pressures and threats to local salmonid populations and develop mitigation techniques to address the problems with the aim to improve fish stocks. A document outlining this kind of work is often referred to as a Fisheries Management Plan (FMP).
Recently, Fisheries Trusts and Boards across Scotland were asked to develop a virtual and interactive FMP for their district as part of a national programme led by Fisheries Management Scotland. This collation of local knowledge from a variety of catchments categorises the different regional and national threats facing salmonid populations and their habitats, and can be used to highlight the importance and/or urgency of specific problems.
As the Skye and Lochalsh Area does not have an operational DSFB, the FMP created for this project was developed by SLRT. It outlines the following key areas:
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An overview of our fishery area and river catchment systems
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A summary of the pressures that were identified within our district
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Necessary management actions needed to address these pressures
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Work currently being undertaken within the SLRT area
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Prioritisation and rough timeframes for planned management actions within the area, taking into account resource availability (e.g. staffing, funding, etc.).
The SLRT FMP can be found here.