Newport Research Facility

The Burrishoole & the Catchment Cluster Open Day

Welcome to Burrishoole & the Newport Facility

Extent of the facilities

The range of services they support

National Salmon Assessment

Experimental Rearing and Ranching

Burrishoole Catchment Ecosystem & Fish Census

National Eel Advice

Burrishoole Rod Angling Fishery

Burrishoole Facility comprises:

Laboratory

Fish trapping (census) stations

Rearing and hatchery unit

Loughs Feeagh and Furnace

Met Eireann Weather Stations x 2

Access to 9,000 ha catchment

forestry – after 1950s

uplands

streams & lakes

Note: MI does not own Bunaveela or rivers

Access to the MI Data – i.e. tide & level, SST

Salmon Research Trust of Ireland

Mission Statement - 1955

To carry out fundamental research into the factors which

govern the development of stocks of salmon and sea trout.

Including whether “like breeds like – salmon sea age”

Where did it start?

The Facilities - Infrastructure

The Facilities – Migratory Fish

The Facilities – Environment & Ecosystem

Lough Furnace Tidal Lagoon

The Facilities – Fish Rearing

• Broodstock holding pond

– 500 adult salmon

• Hatchery

– 1 million ova

• 3 Separate rearing areas

– 150,000 smolts

National Assessment and Advice

Salmon, sea trout and eel

• National Assessments of stocks

• Representation of the assessment data at

International assessment groups (e.g. ICES)

• Provision of scientific advice

• Research & Development

Newport Catchment Team 3 core integrated programmes in Burrishoole

Fish Census & Stock Assessment Salmonid, sea trout & eels Adults & juveniles, marine & freshwater National & International index Stock Assessment

Ecosystem Aquatic Environment freshwater and tidal high resolution data weather climate change

Ecosystem Biology aquatic biology macroinvertebrate & plankton paleolimnology landuse/water interactions

Research & Development supporting

Scientific Advice

Newport Catchment Team Fish Census & Stock Assessment

Fish Traps

Lakes

Rivers

Outputs

Annual Assessments Key indictors Marine Survival Freshwater Ova to Smolt Smolt Production Fish size. age Marine growth Run timing Stock-Recruit Relationships Time series indicators of changes Data used in: MI Research Projects National stock assessment

& advice ICES – annual stocks ICES – stock change

indicators

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

WILD GRILSE

WILD SALMON

REARED GRILSE

WILD SEA TROUT

WILD FINNOCK

WILD BROWN TROUT

2010

2011

Upstream Adult Counts

Salmonid Census Data

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

0 400000 800000 12000001600000

Sm

olt

Ou

tpu

t

Stock - ova

Stock-recruit

Salmon Stock: 0+ fry abundance by different

methods

Juvenile Stock Data

Analysis

Newport Catchment Team Ecosystem Aquatic Environment

Data Sources Data Collected

Meteorological Data High Resolution River & Lake Data Temperature Conductivity Colour/Turbidity Acidity Dissolved oxygen Dissolved Carbon Fluorescence Water level & discharge Zooplankton Phytoplankton Macro-invertebrate

Data Outputs Water quality Changes in hydrology – i.e. floods High quality time series for climate change

Furnace Air Temperature Anomaly 1960 - 2007

-1.000

-0.500

0.000

0.500

1.000

1.500

2.000

19

60

19

65

19

70

19

75

19

80

19

85

19

90

19

95

20

00

20

05

Tem

pera

ture

An

om

aly

(d

eg

C)

1961-1

990

Data Users Climate Change Index Research Data RESCALE Combine with fish data Key parameters pH water level temperature DAFM Forest Service EPA IFI Teagasc International Collaborative research projects on landuse/water interactions

Current & New External Funded/Collaborative Programmes

PROGNOS - Predicting in-lake Responses to change using near real time modelS

Water JPI

DETECT - DisEnTangling the impacts of multiple stressors on the ECology of

waTerbodies

EPA Research

MANTEL - Management of Climatic Extreme Events in Lakes & Reservoirs for the

Protection of Ecosystem Services

Marie-Curie Training Award

Stable Isotopes and food chain pilot study

AST Research Grant

ALH - Alternative life histories: linking genes to phenotypes to demography

ERC – T Reed UCC

Wild farmed interactions in a changing world: formulation of a predictive

methodology to inform environmental best practice to secure long-term

sustainability of global wild and farm fish populations

SFI – P McGinnity/P Prodohl QUB

Fellowship programme – next Slide

Cullen Fellowship Programme 2015 Call – Newport based.

Brian Doyle (E. Jennings, DKIT)

Resolving the carbon budget for Lough Feeagh

Sean Kelly (M. White, NUIG)

Lough Furnace hydrology inputs and ecology (plankton & fish)

Aisling Doogan (D. Brophy, GMIT)

Early migration in salmon and sea trout from the Burrishoole river

using acoustic telemetry in freshwater and coastal areas,

retrospective growth and migration studies (scales & M’tags).

Ross Findley (T. Reed, UCC)

Early migration in salmon and sea trout from the Burrishoole river

using, census data, Pit tag technology in freshwater and brackish

waters and e’fishing/beach seine survey data.

All four projects have links to climate and ocean change

Where do we go next?

Thank you for your attention