Loch Lomond: Man's Effects on the Salmonid Community

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Author: Maitland, Peter S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1972
• Subjects: General Medicine; Loch Lomond; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f72-128; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f72-128

Loch Lomond, the largest area of fresh water in Great Britain, has been utilised by man for many hundreds of years. There are fifteen species offish at present in the loch: all of these are native. Several of them have formed the basis of commercial and sport fisheries in the past but the only two species of importance at present (as sport fish) are salmon (Salmo salar) and trout (Salmo trutta). Man has influenced the loch in ways other than fishing: several fish species have been introduced (none successfully); nutrient input is increasing; loch water is used for domestic and industrial supply; many forms of recreation take place on the loch; and it is of major importance as an amenity. In spite of these stresses there is no indication of any major change in the fish populations within recorded time; nor is there any evidence that they will alter in the foreseeable future, providing a rational conservation programme is developed for the area.