This document discusses the development of a fish counter network in Scotland. It analyzes technical, logistical and economic considerations for different fish counter technologies. The analysis will help determine the optimal counter options for different river environments. The network aims to provide good estimates of fish populations, calculate exploitation rates, and have broad geographic coverage including Special Areas of Conservation. Next steps include finalizing and publishing the research, developing ideal coverage scenarios, considering financing, consulting stakeholders, and planning installations.

1. Fish counters

2. Conservation Limits

3. Conservation Limits
Counters

4. Conservation Limits
• Good estimate of numbers of fish in target river
• Derivation of exploitation rate to apply to other rivers

5. CRF project
Technical, Logistical, and Economic Considerations for the
Development and Implementation of a Scottish Salmon
Counter Network
By
Douglas Braun, Don McCubbing, Daniel Ramos-Espinoza, Michael Chung, Lloyd
Burroughs, Nicholas Burnett, Joseph Thorley, Jason Ladell, Caroline Melville, Barry
Chillibeck, and Marylise Lefevre
261 pages

6. Counter CRF
- Technical Constraints and Installation Costs. Assess the
technical benefits and limitations, and economic costs of
deploying different counter technologies in different
environmental settings, including a consideration of
engineering requirements.

7. Counter CRF
- Automating Counts and Quality Control. Assess the
opportunities for automating signal processing and quality
control associated with different counter technologies,
considering existing processes and protocols where these
can be identified.

8. Counter CRF
- Operational Costs. Determine the costs of maintaining and
validating the various counter options in the range of
environmental contexts explored, including the costs of data
processing and validation.

9. Counter CRF
- Integration of Technological and Economic
Considerations to Determine Choice of Counter
Technology. Combine data collated from Objectives 1-3 to
produce an economic and technical optimization model to
inform the choice of counter options in particular
environments.

10. Strategic Network Design
- Existing counters
- SACs
- Conservation limits
- Broad geographic coverage
- Habitat coverage
- Political (eg two per management unit)
- Availability of resource

11. The 17 SACs in Scotland where
Atlantic salmon is either the
primary reason for designation
of the site or is a qualifying
feature of the site.
SAC data to follow ……

12. SACs together with
the locations of the four river
systems and fish counters which
formed the basis of the
exploitation rates used in the
stock abundance model

13. SACs together with
the locations of the twelve fish
counters whose data were
analysed by Thorley et al (2005).
Criteria for selecting counters
Sufficient data (at least 10 full
years prior to 2002)
Counters regularly monitored
and serviced.
Note: the Tongland counter
(Kirkudbright Dee) was used in the
stock assessment analysis but not by
Thorley et al

14. SACs together with
the locations of the 18 fish
counters originally considered
by Thorley et al (2005) (●) and 4
subsequently installed (●) .

15. Next steps
- Sign-off the CRF project and publish
- Produce basic scenarios for ideal scientific coverage
- Consider finance
- Consult local interest groups
- Plan installation options