Minister visits Salmon Station

The station is marking the Centenary milestone with an invitation for members of the public to come along and experience a behind the scenes peek.

The Minister said: “I was delighted to visit the River Bush Salmon Station to see first-hand the great work being carried out by the knowledgeable and experienced DAERA Inland Fisheries staff. The station ensures the conservation, protection, development and improvement of the salmon and inland fisheries of Northern Ireland.

“During the tour I was able to see how Atlantic salmon battle against all odds to spawn in the River Bush and go on to make the journey from there out to the North Atlantic.”

Since the River Bush Salmon Station was established in 1973, it has provided a significant contribution towards the establishment and continuing development of an evidence base necessary for Atlantic salmon management, not only in Northern Ireland and the British Isles but across the range of Atlantic salmon in the North Atlantic.

DAERA and Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) scientists are uncovering the secret lives of salmon through their research at this station and AFBI’s research on stock/recruitment relationships is at the forefront of international efforts to define salmon spawning targets and test their applicability to salmon management throughout the north-east Atlantic.

Recent salmon research conducted at Bushmills focused on important contemporary issues such as the impact of climate change on salmon. Scientists at the station have used new scientific techniques to investigate critical aspects of salmon biology.