Controlling Priority Invasive Species

The Galloway catchment consists of nine major river catchments - the Luce, Bladnoch, Cree, Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire Dee, Urr, Nith, Annan and Border Esk. Although the GFT has over the year's undertaken extensive works across all of these rivers, its 'Core' river catchments, and where the trust focuses the main body of its work, are the six located to the west of the region (the Luce to the Urr and the Border Esk).

From mountains to moorland and rolling hills to fertile floodplains, the landscape of the Galloway catchment is characterised by its rivers and their tributaries. The rivers on which the Trust works on provide an amazing and outstanding array of freshwater lochs and rivers which support some of the most diverse fish populations in Scotland. Each river is unique and individual in its own right and all attract much interest from anglers, walkers and wildlife enthusiasts.

Within the GFT area there are many species and landscape designations. Of particular note and relevance is the River Bladnoch Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for Atlantic salmon, Luce Bay and sands SAC, the lower Cree SSSI, Cree estuary SSSI and River Dee (Kirkcudbrightshire) Parton to Crossmicheal SSSI.

Present or potential pressures on the Galloway catchment and its fisheries include acidification, pollution, anthropogenic barriers to fish movement, degraded riparian and spawning habitats, overexploitation, predation, parasites, disease and the introduction of alien non-native species. Current fisheries management undertaken in the catchment includes predator control, habitat intervention, stocking, exploitation and poaching control, the easing of barriers and invasive alien species control.