The AST held a workshop at Plas Menai, Bangor, in February 2011, to look at our current knowledge of sea trout, and to identify priorities in management of these fish.

Although sea trout are found throughout the British Isles, there has been far less research into sea trout than into salmon, and  we know less about them. It was to try to do something about this that the Trust convened a Sea Trout Workshop in Bangor, North Wales, on 9 and 10 February 2011. The Reprt of the workshop is now available; the summary can be read here, and the full report here.

 The objectives of the Workshop, which was supported financially by the Environment Agency and attended by invited participants from Britain and Ireland, were to consider what progress had been made recently in sea trout research  and to identify continuing gaps in our knowledge.  The Workshop concentrated on what managers and regulators need to know to manage sea trout stocks and on the research needed to meet their requirements.

The Workshop’s primary aim was to produce advice to research funders, scientists and managers on research and monitoring priorities and it  identified five key areas for future work, as well as  and  recommending  further research/action on a range of specific topics.

The Trust will now be seeking to take forward the recommendations. Much will, of course, depend on the availability of funding, but the first step will be to develop projects, in collaboration with potential funders, for which funding can be sought. It is intended that these should be part of a comprehensive programme of future research and monitoring on sea trout that will guide government departments and agencies, research councils, fisheries managers, rivers trusts and associations, fisheries and angling NGOs and universities in reaching decisions on funding.