PRESS RELEASE
Advanced technology delivers for the SeaMonitor Project Ocean tracking of Atlantic salmon extends to 600km 3 August 2021: The ability to track free swimming salmon juveniles has been extended hundreds of kilometres into the open ocean using advanced robotic technology. As part of the EU INTERREG VA-funded SeaMonitor project, Dr Ross O’Neill, Marine Institute and Kieran Adlum, P&O Maritime, tested a remotely operated “ocean glider”, equipped with an acoustic tag detector along the steeply sloping area of the shelf edge approximately 130km north-west of the Scottish Hebrides. The ocean glider was deployed from the RV Celtic Explorer on 16th April during the 2021 Irish Anglerfish and Megrim Survey. During its twomonth mission, the glider successfully detected four individual juvenile salmon smolts measuring only 15 to 19cm, nearly 600 km from their home rivers in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. These fish had been tagged between four and six weeks previously with electronic acoustic transmitting tags along with hundreds of other juvenile salmon as part of the SeaMonitor project but also as part of the West Coast Tracking Project, a partnership between the Atlantic Salmon Trust, Fisheries Management Scotland and Marine Scotland, EU INTERREG VA-funded COMPASS project and Agri-Food Biosciences Institute (AFBI) research initiatives. One of the main aims of these projects is to investigate the persistent low marine survival of Atlantic salmon in the early stages of their oceanic migration to feeding grounds in the North Atlantic. The four fish originated from the River Burrishoole in Co Mayo Ireland, the River Bann in Northern Ireland and the Rivers Clyde and Awe in Scotland. Up to now, most tracking studies had been limited to estuarine or coastal areas due to technology limitations and the need for stationary receivers. According to Dr Niall Ó Maoiléidigh of the Marine Institute and Principal Investigator for the SeaMonitor Project, “The detection of these fish confirms the importance of the shelf edge in this amazing journey, as the faster currents associated with the steep slopes most likely act as an aquatic transport system facilitating the northward migration of these tiny fish through a very harsh environment.” Prof Colin Adams University of Glasgow and Principal Investigator for the SeaMonitor Project said, “This study shows that tracking salmon over considerable distances at sea can be achieved which is crucial for research into highly migratory marine species especially where mortality may be occurring far from the shore.” Dr Ciaran Kelly, Director of Fisheries Ecosystems and Advisory Services at the Marine Institute said, “The use of the glider to track the movements of even very small fish has been SeaMonitor is a project supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).