2017 / 2018
Contents 2017 in Numbers Balancing Land Use
1
Evidence at a catchment scale
Three Rivers Restoration
2 4 5 6 7
Forestry Minewater
Underground Underwear
Engaging People
Westcountry C.S.I.
Sponge 2020
9 10 12
USAR
Protecting Rivers
Acid Remediation
Interns
Salmon on the Avon and South Teign
Camelford Wier
Electric Fishing Summary
Financial Summary
14 16 17 18 20 21
President: Michael Martin MBE Chairman of the Trust: Charles Huntington-Whiteley Chairman of the Board of Directors: Adam Fox-Edwards Trustees and Directors: Paul Arnott
Jenny Ingham Clark
Prof David Butler
Dr Keith Lancaster
The Lord Clinton
Henry Llewellyn
William Darwall
The Hon Mrs George Lopes
Sir Simon Day
Richard Simpson
Andrew Gray
Andrew Southall
Graeme Hart
Dr Andy Torrance
Sir David Hoare Bt
William Wyldbore-Smith
Chief Executive: Dr Laurence Couldrick Company Secretary: Kelly Sivorn Independent Auditors: Francis Clark LLP Sigma House, Oak View Close, Edginswell Ln, Torquay TQ2 7FF Registered Company no: 06545646 Registered Charity No: 1135007 Registered office: Rain-Charm House, Kyl Cober Parc, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall PL17 8PH
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2017 In Numbers...
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elcome to the latest edition of our annual newsletter, Confluence. 2017 was a great year for our delivery teams as we were able to carry out a huge amount of restoration and conservation work across the region. This work has included over 22 km of river bank management, restoring stretches of water course to maximise the number of invertebrates produced, which in turn impacts on the carrying capacity for fish and other apex predators. Our farm advisors have worked with more than 180 farmers covering 1300 ha of the land that drains into our catchments. Our evidence and engagement team have worked with over 1623 people to get them actively involved in protecting their river and understanding the value of this important habitat. However,
it is not enough for us to achieve these outputs. We have to be able to demonstrate that the outputs we do lead to the outcomes we want to see. This issue concentrates not only on the quality of the outputs we are delivering, but also explores some of the data we are collecting on our outcomes. This is vital to ensure we can secure future support and funding to continue to battle against what is often a challenging environment. Alongside collecting data to show the impact we are having, we also collect it to understand the longerterm trends on our catchments and pinpoint future investments. Although we do a huge amount of monitoring and data collection this pales into insignificance at the scale of rivers we cover. The way we cope with this is to try and work with our partners, such as the Environment
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Agency, to make the best use of our resources, but we are always pushing for more support. If you want to get involved there’s lots of ways to help from becoming a citizen scientist, where we will send you a kit to monitor your local river, to joining or supporting our electrofishing team, through our summer intern programme.
Our rivers need your help... What will you do?
Balancing Land Use
Upstream Thinking
Evidence at a catchment scale In the South West more than 38% of the soils on farms are severely degraded. A side stream colours the edge of a tributary. Photo by: James Hedger
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Land
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he way land is managed is fundamental to our society and nowhere should we be more interested in land management than here in the Westcountry. We have some of the highest annual rainfall figures in England, some of the most risky soils and some of the highest cattle densities, as well as significant bulb and vegetable growers. This cocktail of conditions means the land beneath our feet is at risk of being degraded, leading to water running off the surface rather than slowly moving through the soil. Runoff takes with it not only the soil itself but also any slurry, nutrients or pesticides on the surface, polluting our rivers, lakes and beaches not to mention flooding our towns and villages. Unfortunately, in the South West more than 38% of the soils on farms are severely degraded and our advisors often find inadequate and insufficient yard infrastructure. This means the volume of slurries and manures cannot be stored over winter and are spread on the land over the wetter months, ending up being washed away. This is not only an environmental disaster, as it leads to sedimentation of spawning gravels and pollution of drinking and bathing waters, but it also is a waste to the farmer who has to buy-in inorganic fertilisers to ensure crop growth. So, what can be done? The Trust has been answering that question for the last twenty years by working with farmers to highlight where savings can be made through improved management of their resources and assisting them with infrastructure grants. This approach has always been well received by the farmer as it has a direct economic benefit to the business as well as the environmental benefit the Trust wants to see but the follow on question has always been, does it have an impact at a catchment level?
The later question has taken a lot more time and energy to answer. At a plot scale the answer is a resounding yes, as you can easily see the impact of fencing cattle out of the river or improving slurry storage on the local populations of aquatic invertebrates. The trouble comes when you look at a catchment scale as the number of variables increase dramatically. Fortunately, the Trust was able to secure support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), via the Demonstration Test Catchment project (DTC). The Tamar DTC was delivered by a consortium led by Rothamsted Research and comprises of the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, Queen Mary University of London, RSK ADAS and the Trust. This allowed a small catchment on the Tamar to be monitored before and after a programme of farm engagement and investment.
Farms in the catchment had poor infrastructure, which was causing point source and diffuse polution from field runoff, where slurry was being spread over winter, due to inadequate storage capacity. This resulted in compacted soils, and mobilisation of sediment and slurry, further exacerbating soil compaction. Between 2013-2015, farms in the sub-catchment underwent a series of upgrades so farmers could reduce their use of inorganic fertilisers and make more use of their own slurries and manures during the spring and summer, rather than losing them to the river. During the first phase of Upstream Thinking two thirds of the 24 farm holdings within the sub-catchment engaged with the project; of which 11 farms awarded grant investment, 7 farms receiving new or improved slurry and silage storage and 6 farms granted measures to restrict animals access to watercourses.
“ Interventions to manage point and diffuse pollution coincide with reductions in average nitrogen concentrations � Comparison of the baseline data with post-intervention data showed a significant reduction in dissolved nitrogen as well as changes in the forms of nitrogen. Such changes suggested a reduction in the contribution of slurries and manures as well as a reduction in the proportion of nitrogenous fertilisers. Increasing populations of aquatic invertebrates reflect the trend in reducing nitrogen in the catchment.
Additionally, electrofishing data showed increases in bullhead fish populations in the Caudworthy catchment from 102 in 2011 to 365 in 2016 and seperate Environment Agency electrofishing data indicated an improving picture for salmon and trout between 2009 and 2015. Therefore, the interventions to manage point and diffuse pollution coincide with reductions in average Nitrogen concentrations as well as increases in aquatic invertebrates and fish. However, variations in annual rainfall patterns do mean it is unclear whether this is a causal relationship. The DTC partnership is now conducting further monitoring and reviews of farmer behaviour change to improve clarity and scope for confirmation.
Land
Three Rivers Restoration
Restoring three Devon rivers with agicultural and domestic issues contributing to poor water quality.
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he Lumburn, Lower Tavy and Walkham catchments, collectively feed into the Tamar at Lopwell, have been identified as having diffuse pollution inputs contributing to Water Framework Directive (WFD) failures, primarily phosphates. Building on our initial water quality monitoring, differentiating between agricultural or domestic sources, both issues have been addressed separately, highlighting problems and supporting best practice. Domestically, poorly managed septic tanks and domestic misconnections can unknowingly allow grey water or sewerage to impact watercourses. Whereas on farms the project has established a working relationship with numerous landowners to provide free visits, advice, soil testing and a small level of capital grant to focus on protecting water quality, in hand with wet weather walkover surveys which flag up potential problem areas. Soils are key throughout and managing livestock for yield and resource protection are primary topics. The Walkham also has some localised flooding issues where we are working with others including the Environment Agency to understand how to mitigate these such as improving soil infiltration. With very few other farm advice schemes in this catchment, WRT aim to build on this with local input to steer any potential future investment opportunities.
Above: Water quality testing beside the river. Below: the river Walkham
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Land
Forestry
Forestry can have a positive or negative impact on our rivers. WRT are working with commercial operators to prevent sediment from reaching the rivers.
WRT engaging with uj;ojksdfkdsf[‘jfg[‘oidjgds Above: A commercial conifer forest bordering Below: jhfgednfgjsdnfgjksdnfgkj a Devon river.
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iparian woodlands play an important role in our ecosystems and we work hard at WRT to not only help manage them in the immediate river corridor but incorporate trees into our landscape. The benefits of woodland are well recorded including; Natural Flood Management, reduced compaction, increased organic matter, higher levels of insect, bird and mammal populations and re-connecting fragmented habitats. Commercial forestry, however, can have a negative impact on our rivers. Of particular concern is sediment; readily mobilised in wet weather and with forest tracks often connected to ditches, channels and streams, reducing the transport into the rivers is essential. Through local engagement WRT have been working with commercial forestry contacts in some of our key target catchments. Providing advice and help to reduce impacts over the wet extraction season which can lead to point and diffuse impacts from machinery operations and trafficking. The winter forestry extraction months coincide with salmonid spawning which heightens the
risk of sediment smothering redds (salmon egg nests) as well as degrading downstream habitat. We are working to produce a simple guide for water quality protection, covering; installing sediment traps, hardstanding to loading areas and track improvements. Future aspirations will move towards a broader initiative to expand these approaches with a possible demonstration area to work with others.
Land
Mine waters Mitigating the legacy of our industrial past from running into our rivers and estuaries with some reclaimed materials and creativity.
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he legacy of our industrial past is evident across the South West; under the Tamar Catchment Partnership it was identified that redundant mining sites not only contained multiple metals or chemical elements (including arsenic, copper or lead,) but bare spoil tips may also assist in their mobilisation pushing the problem into our estuaries. In combination with other partners WRT considered how to practically reduce this impact where possible and understand limitations. As a result, we are running trials with University of Plymouth which implement use of different materials to assist in revegetation of spoil heaps monitoring loss levels via rainfall infiltration. We are currently running these trials on a privately-owned site with replicate plots utilising various reclaimed materials to act as a medium to support and nurture vegetation cover. Whilst this trial is ongoing it also links into our USAR (Using Sediment As a Resource) project, as contamination from mining sites is a widespread problem which impacts the river and its associated flora and fauna and can result in WFD failure. The accumulation in estuaries also presents a problem due to toxicity, cost and removal limitations.
A lack of healthy soil (or any soil) profile over spoil means long timelines for natural revegetation. Our hope is to understand how to improve this, speed up revegetation and hence reduce losses into watercourses, potentially incorporating other cost-effective reclaimed materials. Trials are ongoing into 2018 and will work with University of Plymouth researchers towards this, which may allow further work in other (non-designated or protected) areas.
Above: Historical mine Below: University of Plymouth trial installation
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Land
UNDERGROUND
UNDERWEAR
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hilst organic matter (OM) can influence soil biological activity, we’ve found that structure and water content appear to be more important. This conclusion was unearthed thanks to a small study conducted by WRT with the help of five pairs of identical ladies white cotton pants. Pants were buried at five locations in the Lower Otter valley with varying landuses, each site had its soil type and OM assessed in the lab to help compare biological activity. Their condition after eleven weeks underground was then used to assess soil health. Results of this trial found that pants buried in degraded soils were left largely intact, with those buried in well structured grassland and hedges almost completely broken down to just the elastic. Whilst this is a limited study, originally initiated to find a novel method to engage farmers in soil health issues, its findings do highlight both the importance of soil structure and good biological activity. These results have been disseminated out to farmers as a newsletter feature, through direct one to one discussions and at farm events.
Above: Brand new underwear Below: Before being buried for 11 weeks
Top to bottom: The best to the worst soils
Engaging People
Training River Fly volunteers on the river Fowey
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Evidence & Engagement
C.S.I.
Citizen Science Investigation
WRT staff and a growing cohort of Citizen Scientists are out in the Westcountry monitoring water quality.
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ith some simple and affordable equipment, five minute surveys, by citizen scientists, of sites around Devon and Cornwall are enriching our own data gathering. Measuring electrical conductivity, turbidity and phosphate levels, members of the public (with a little training and a little kit) can supplement our data to bring catchment scale monitoring to life, building a strong and representative baseline of data. Electrical conductivity (EC) with a small handheld meter is a good indicator of general water quality. Pollution from wastewater and urban and agricultural runoff will cause an increase in EC. The brown colour often found in samples occurs primarily as a result of tannin-stained waters released from decaying detritus or peat. A cloudy appearance is most likely suspended sediment. For these monitoring surveys, turbidity (TURB) is used as a proxy for suspended sediment as filtration, drying and weighing of the sample is not practical. Phosphate (PO4) is a nutrient which in excess can lead to algal growth, oxygen depletion and eutrophication. This is measured with a paper test strip impregnated with a chemical reagent that turns blue when phosphates are present.
Sign up to volunteer with us email csi@wrt.org.uk
WRT Engagement The Trust has been out on the road at fairs, events, workshops and festivals, engaging with the public and impressing a passion and love for our rivers.
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rom the Camel River Festival, where water quality and even fly casting were tried out by the young and old, to an estuary clean up at the mouth of the Taw river, Trust staff have been passing on their knowledge and enthusiasm for rivers to a huge variety of clubs, groups and people of all kinds.
We believe that education is the key to changing behaviour and real education can only be achieved through interaction with the natural world. Here are just a few of our many events from 2017.
By promoting the work and ethos of the Trust, we can encourage people to form a direct relationship with their river as well as foster a sense of guardianship within the community. Building relationships with engaged individuals is vital.
2017 saw the first Camel River Festival held in the town of Wadebridge. Set on the banks of the Camel, fly casting instruction was held on the grass, putting rods in the hands of eager visitors, some as young as five years old. Our ongoing River Buffs project has continued to build a bit of fluvial geekery among anglers, dog walkers and anyone else who wants to know more about how to make rivers a healthier. From Invasive species control to water quality, bankside management to bats, WRT staff have conducted a series of workshops throughout the year.
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Totnes Archimedes Screwfest, a festival formed by a renewable energy society, was the ideal place to show some of the science the Trust is involved in, and get people involved. Though aired in 2018, two separate projects were filmed by the BBC for Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s programme Hugh’s Wild West. Matt Healey’s work on gravel introduction on the Avon and Scott West’s ongoing eel work were both featured in the 12 part series.
Riverfly monitoring uses the quantity and variety of aquatic invertebrates as a simply warning for possible water quality issues. With recently certified trainers, we conducted a training session for a group of volunteers, equipping them with the equipment needed to start surveying and submitting their data.
As Sponge 2020 developed, we held several workshops for schools and community groups, explaining the importance of storing rainfall as a way of reducing flooding. Crow Point River Clean attracted nearly 50 volunteers to litter pick along the banks of the lower Taw river
Sponge 2020
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n the year-and-a-half that SPONGE 2020 has been going, we have made some good progress towards achieving our goals: co-creation of nature-based solutions to the water-related effects of climate change. We are working together with different community groups, local government bodies, regulators and anyone interested to find space and places in Taunton that can store rainfall and so reduce the risk of flooding, while at the same time providing more benefits to people as well as wildlife. So far, we have been working towards identifying the best places for these interventions to go, and have
had great responses from the local community. As a demonstration project, we have delivered a number of raingarden planters on Taunton Deane Borough Council owned housing sites. These stop roof runoff from going into the drains and provide some colour, fragrance and wildlife on sheltered housing sites. They have been designed to be low maintenance and using dementia-friendly gardening guidance. Word is getting out about the project and we are especially happy to see so many schools engaging with the concept - the next year should be an exciting one!
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Evidence & Engagement
USAR
Under the USAR project, Westcountry Rivers Trust are working with ports and harbours across the region to investigate alternative solutions to the disposal of dredged sediments at sea.
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SAR stands for Using Sediment As a Resource – it is an Interreg 2 Seas project involving partners from the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Sediment that is dredged from our harbours and estuaries starts out as valuable soil on farmland. It can get washed into rivers where it clogs spawning gravels and causes excess sedimentation in estuaries. Dredged sediment is bulky and expensive to transport. It may also contain heavy metals or chemical contaminants that make it troublesome to reuse. As well as working in the upstream catchment to reduce the volume of soil lost into our rivers, we are looking at ways of capturing sediment and reusing it closer to its source – before it becomes a problem in the estuary.
Our Dutch partners in the USAR project are piloting a novel way of increasing the value of dredged sediment – by combining it with manure and green waste to make a topsoil substitute. When sediment is recovered from a watercourse the organic content and living organisms that completed the original soil are lost, resulting in a dense, silty mud which can be difficult to incorporate back into farmland. By mixing in organic matter from other waste streams the result is a substance that is much closer to soil and can be planted within weeks of being spread over the land. Below: Combining manure and green waste to make a topsoil substitute
Protecting Rivers
D.A.R.T Acid Remediation Trial Finding similarities in ecology and gastronomy would seem uncommon to say the least, but work along side University of Plymouth has somehow managed just that. Page 14
Fisheries
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here is a method of preparing fish that relies on citrus fruit juice to ‘cook’ the protein, whilst preserving its delicate texture. This method is known as ‘ceviche’ and gastronomic readers of Confluence will know that all you need is some fresh fish filets and fruit juice in the pH range of 3.0 and below to produce a delicious meal. Dartmoor is built on granite and as such has always been an acidic place. Working with University of Plymouth we have recorded highly acidic water flushes n the upper West Dart, the most extreme down to (pH) 2.8,the river is therefore reaching ‘ceviche’ pH levels. Such extreme low pH events go beyond the natural range of acidity on the moor and are related to the historic damage that acid rain has caused to the moor in the past. Salmonids only suffer damage once the pH drops below 5, and whilst the difference between a pH of 5 and a pH of 3 may not sound a great deal, pH is a ‘logarithmic’ scale. What this means is that a pH of 4 is ten times as acidic as a pH of 5, and a pH of 3 one hundred times as acidic. So, we know that fish in the upper West Dart are sometimes exposed to acidity such that it could ‘ceviche’ them. Whilst they possess protective mucus and skin, and perhaps the ability to take refuge in flooded side streams and moorland marshes, it is therefore perhaps no surprise that we do
not find any salmon fry at all in the upper West Dart. Studying fish such as salmon is complex and so our work in the Dart Acid Remediation Trial (D.A.R.T) to prevent the upper West Dart’s pH from declining below 5 has focused on river invertebrates and algae, rather than fish. WRT has added limestone gravel in bags to a tributary of the upper West Dart to see if we can change these damaging pH troughs. So what is the impact of this work? We have prevented a small side-stream from declining below a pH of 5. Although the current baggedlimestone methodology is rather small to generate so significant a change in the main river, we have managed to prevent the extreme ‘ceviche’ events (pH 3) in the upper West Dart itself. Most importantly our measurements of diatoms (microscopic river algae) and aquatic invertebrates show an impact downstream of the dosing site, with an increase in species sensitive to acidic conditions, whilst (critically) maintaining the acid tolerant species. Excitingly, for the first time, we have found dragonfly nymphs at this site, a key indicator of healthy streams. In our next issue of Confluence, we hope to report an improvement in our ability to protect algae, invertebrates and fish in West Dart from exposure to ‘ceviche’ pH levels.
Previous page: Upper West Dart in a dusting of snow. Above: A typical plate of ceviche
Fisheries
EF Interns
The ecology of rivers is a source of endless engagement and enjoyment for those that have an interest in the life that flourishes in our Westcountry waterways. 2017 saw the first WRT summer intern programme
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tudents and other young people, coming to the end of their studies, often wonder where they can go next to develop their understanding of aquatic life. With these people in mind we started the Westcountry Rivers Trust Internship programme in 2017, and by the end of the spring we had four intern volunteers ready to start. They were trained in river monitoring, qualified in electrofishing, and ready to go out to assist us in our works monitoring Westcountry rivers. Summer is always a busy time at the Trust’s offices at Rain-Charm House, as the rivers are usually low, and we have our best opportunity to gather as much information as we can on our catchments before
another winter floods the river channels. Every summer we electrofish hundreds of sites toasses the state of trout and salmon, and it is always a challenge to get out to each river, stream and brook site that we want to sample. Without the interns this year we would surely never have been able to get to all our sites, which totalled well over two hundred locations. On top of the electrofishing work, the interns cleared fish passage blockers, carried out water quality surveys, and did all they could to help understand, restore and protect our Westcountry rivers. A big thank you to the interns for their help last summer, and we hope that they will go on to be the next generation of river guardians.
2017 summer intern Sam Baycock with a sea trout caught during electrofishing on the Meavy,
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Fisheries
Salmon on the Avon and South Teign
Clean gravel is essential for salmon spawning, but reservoirs impeed the transit of this material from the headwaters to the spawning grounds.
Monitoring of gravel transit on the Avon
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ome Westcountry streams flow from the headwaters directly into reservoirs. These streams naturally carry gravels and sand into these lakes, but the water that flows out from these reservoirs lacks these gravels. The result of this is that below our reservoirs there is usually a distinct lack of gravel, and a lack of gravel makes it impossible for salmon to spawn. Trout are usually able to use small side streams and slightly sandy patches of small gravel, but salmon do not have this flexibility. Past electrofishing has shown that below the Avon Dam and Fernworthy Reservoir salmon did not spawn. South West Water have therefore funded WRT to add spawning gravels to both the Avon and the South Teign in an attempt to restore these spawning grounds. What was the impact of these works? The story has
been very different on the two rivers. On the Avon salmon have begun spawning on our restored gravel beds, and for the first time in many years we are now able to find salmon fry on the upper Avon, below the dam. On the South Teign whilst we have restored the gravels, there has not been a restoration of spawning below Fernworthy. The difference in impact appears to be caused by differences in the flows between the two reservoirs. We are now working with South West Water on a plan to change the flows from Fernworthy to assist spawning of salmon below the reservoir and discover if we are able generate the same remarkable results as we have had on the Avon. With salmon numbers dropping across Europe, it is a rare sign of success to be able to show restoration of salmon populations from areas where they have not been seen in decades.
Fisheries
Camelford weir
Water for Growth’s first major easement to fish passage on the Camel just happened to be the backdrop to the launch of the project.
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n a sunny spring day in 2017 we stood on the banks of the Camel with the Environment Agency and Natural England, representing the partnership of the Water for Growth project, and told the media of our intent to improve the ability of salmon and sea trout to spawn above Camelford weir. The existing structure prevented fish from moving upstream under many flow conditions, and the fish pass was of an old-fashioned design that damages and kills smolts (juvenile fish migrating out to sea).
the sea. Over the coming year this new web-cam will enable us to monitor the impact of the improvements at Camelford, and allow us to gain a better insight into the impact of the weir improvements made in the Water for Growth project. There is quite a lot of video footage to look at, however, so if you would like to help us view the camera footage from Camelford weir, get in touch at csi@wrt.org.uk.
The spring of 2018 felt very different, with snow and ice covering the roads and riversides, we were grateful that we had finished the fish passage work at Camelford, and were not standing at the river bank. The newly installed fish-pass monitoring camera had been installed, and now we were able sit in the warmth of the office and view the water flowing over the new notch in the weir crest. A new set of baffles has been installed to ease the passage of fish over the weir, and the smolt damaging fish pass had been altered so smolts will not pass through its mouth on the way downstream to
L-R: James Burke, Alan Burrows, Wesley Smith, Scott Man MP, Leisley Newport, Bruce Stockley, Laurence Couldrick
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Fisheries
Above: Camelford weir on the day of the Water for Growth press launch. Below: Near completion of the easment, with eel pass on right and low cost baffles on the weir face.
Fisheries
Electrofishing Summary
The rivers of the South West are as diverse in their types as any group of rivers you could find in the British Isles.
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here is no such thing as a generic Westcountry river, Westcountry salmon or Westcountry trout. Each stock is responding to the unique set of pressures and opportunities presented to the fish that live in these diverse catchments. Global influences, particularly marine food supply in the North Atlantic and marine netting, impact on all the salmon and (sea) trout stocks in a broadly similar way. Despite global impacts on salmon stocks, the problems of in-river salmon and trout are different in each river in the South West. The trends over time are often dissimilar to one another, and whilst one river declines it is not uncommon to see a neighbouring river improve. Combinations of factors have an impact on the juvenile salmonid populations; topography, land use, agricultural practice and riparian shading all affect the fry density at a tributary level, let alone a catchment level.
the character of these rivers and in what way they are different from one another. Once water and soil quality data is introduced, habitat surveys and land practice analysed, a detailed picture can be established. This complexity means that whilst there is no one size fits all answer to improving westcountry rivers, a bespoke data-led response to the individual needs of each river gives us the best possible chance to restore and protect these fisheries.
With over 200 electric fishing surveys completed in 2017, primarily semi-quantative with a few fullyquantative, the data collected gives us a glimpse at
Surveying the Dart
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Finance Summary
Income from donations
Expenditure on raising funds:
£64,980: At £65k voluntary income represents only a small element of the Trust’s income stream, amounting to just 3% of the total income for 2017. The Trust has ambitions to develop its fundraising ability to increase the level of voluntary donations as this is an important factor in allowing the Trust to manage its own destiny.
£139,021: This includes £126k of expenditure by WRL that does not relate to projects that are considered in furtherance of the Trusts’ charitable activities. This represents a minor decrease of £5k (4%) from the previous year.
Income from charitable activities £2,000,331: During 2017 the Trust continued to deliver its flagship SWW funded Upstream Thinking project (Phase 2) with corresponding income from this project of £819k. The Trust also continued to deliver four significant European funded projects with corresponding income as follows: Fishtrail - £14k; SPONGE - £56k; USAR - £65k; and Water for Growth - £277k, and won a further two European funded projects with corresponding income as follows: CPES - £3K; Risk Aqua Soil - £28k. These are multi-year projects which will really allow the Trust to push its approach to successfully managing the environment at a local, national and international level. A number of smaller but equally important projects were also delivered including: the WaterLIFE project for which income totalled £23k; the Biffa Freshwater Pearl Mussel project for which income totalled £12k; and, we continue to remain heavily involved in the delivery of CaBA receiving a further £45k for our role in hosting three major catchments in the Westcountry. Together these projects alone constitute 65% of the Trust’s income from charitable activities and they are supplemented by a number of other interesting and exciting areas of delivery including £200k from the trading subsidiary as a result of activities that are in furtherance of the trusts charitable objectives.
Expenditure on charitable activities £1,845,076: Total resources expended by the Trust in 2017, excluding non-charitable trading activities of the trading subsidiary, were £1,858k. Of this, direct expenditure on charitable activities, excluding allocated support costs, represents 86%. Continued delivery of the Trust’s flagship SWW funded Upstream Thinking project (Phase 2) resulted in expenditure on charitable activities of £660k. Delivery of four significant European funded projects incurred expenditure as follows: Fishtrail - £20k; SPONGE - £56k; USAR - £65k; and Water for Growth - £279k. Further the two new European funded projects incurred expenditure as follows: CPES £5K; Risk Aqua Soil - £28k. Expenditure on some of the smaller but equally important projects separately noted above was as follows: the WaterLIFE project for which expenditure totalled £18k; the Biffa Freshwater Pearl Mussel project for which expenditure totalled £15k; and, the delivery of CaBA incurred expenditure of £48k. Together with the trading subsidiary’s expenditure on projects in furtherance of charitable activities of £126k, expenditure on these projects constituted 72% of the Trust’s expenditure on charitable activities and 77% of the Trust’s total expenditure (excluding the trading subsidiary).
Income from other trading activities £67,315: This includes income from the Trust’s wholly owned trading subsidiary, Westcountry Rivers Limited (WRL) that does not relate to projects that are considered in furtherance of the Trusts’ charitable activities. Overall WRL income has remained fairly consistent with the previous year, falling by only £21k (7%) from £289k in 2016 to £268k in 2017. This is considered a successful result for WRL given the change in nature of the work they are winning and delivering.
Restricted Reserves:
Unrestricted Reserves
£705,985: Restricted reserves have increased by £84k (14%) from the previous year-end. This is primarily due to grants being received in advance of incurring the related delivery expenditure.
£533,379: Unrestricted reserves have increased by £76k (17%) from the previous year-end. This is a particularly pleasing result as we continue in our long term ambition to build unrestricted reserves in order to increase our future impact.
Support your river Please help us to protect your river by volunteering your time or by making a donation. Help us control invasive weeds, manage river banks or survey our rivers. ÂŁ100 allows us to test soil nutrients and reduce loss ÂŁ250 allows us to run a school event and get the teachers using their local river ÂŁ500 allows us to restore a gravel bed for spawning you can donate by visiting:
http://wrt.org.uk/get-involved/ http://wrt.org.uk/support-us
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