Scottish Canals held a successful open afternoon last week welcoming communities from Argyll and Bute to find out more about wildlife on the Crinan Canal.
The visitors, who included school children from Ardrishaig Primary School, were given the unique opportunity to see some of the fish relocated from the current winter engineering works site at Crinan.
The canal custodians hosted the afternoon at The Egg Shed heritage hub last Thursday, November 23.
The school children and visitors learned about the wildlife found in and around the Crinan Canal through interactive activities with Scottish Canals’ environmental scientist Julia Johnstone and Heart of Argyll Wildlife ranger Pete Creech.
Next, they met members of the fish catch and release specialists team, APEM. In addition to discovering more about the fish that call the canal home, visitors were able to get up close to see some of the fish caught just that morning, on their way to be released.
Engineers from Scottish Canals and contractors Mackenzie Construction were also on hand throughout the afternoon to welcome visitors and to answer any questions about the winter engineering works.
The APEM specialist team worked last week to catch the fish from these canal sections, before releasing them back into the canal at the Ardrishaig.
The fish relocation process has now been completed to schedule, with APEM catching over 100 fish and crabs, including flounder, mullet, eels, four-bearded rockling, and green shore crabs.
Julia Johnstone, Scottish Canals’ Senior Environmental Scientist, said: “The fish relocation works was a great opportunity for us to work with APEM and Heart of Argyll Wildlife and to link in with the local primary school and the wider community.
“We were delighted to see their enthusiasm for learning about the unique habitat the canal provides for a fascinating variety of species, in and beside the water.”
Gavin Chesney, contracts manager at Mackenzie Construction, added: “The fish relocation programme was once again a huge success thanks to the teams at Scottish Canals and Heart of Argyll Wildlife and the specialists at APEM.
“Protecting local wildlife is a key priority for Mackenzie Construction when working on projects of this nature and this was an excellent opportunity to invite local communities to learn more about the wildlife on the Canal through witnessing the fish relocation.”