Fish habitat

assessment & surveys

 
  • Survey design and site selection
  • Electrofishing using several methods including fully quantitative and semi quantitative methods, and species-specific approaches such as lamprey assessments
  • Habitat walkovers, catchment to local scale, including remote areas and outputting maps of habitat distributions and quantity
  • Redd surveys
  • Fish rescues

Habitat enhancement, river restoration and reconnection

 

Restoration and rewilding are hot topics in ecology, and we can assist your projects with the following:

  • Walkovers to identify habitat restoration or enhancement possibilities and project constraints
  • Guidance on methods and materials to use
  • Fish barrier assessment and passage guidance for a range of fish species
  • Monitoring programme design to assess project success
  • Design and delivery project management

Construction, development and licensing services

 

We can provide a suite of services to ensure your construction project is meets the relevant environmental guidance for protecting rivers and assist with obtaining all necessary permissions and licenses.  

A summary description of the services includes:

  • Initial site and desktop assessments to identify risks and confirm next steps prior to design
  • Carry out initial surveys to confirm the presence of important ecology receptors
  • Review of method statements
  • Provide specialist freshwater input to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and supporting information for Appropriate Assessments/Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA).
  • Determination of mitigation to support planning applications, CAR licenses and District Salmon Fishery Board permissions.
  • Species protection plans
  • Implement mitigation measures such as fish rescues, advise on sediment and pollution control and provide Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) specific for freshwater environments.
  • Operational monitoring
  • Pearl mussel surveys using standard wadeable methods
  • Snorkel based surveys for deeper water
  • Habitat walkovers using peal mussel habitat classifications
  • Dedicated pearl mussel protection plans

Freshwater Pearl

Mussels

 

We are fully licensed to survey for pearl mussels, and can provide the following services:

  • Pearl mussel surveys using standard wadeable methods
  • Snorkel based surveys for deeper water
  • Habitat walkovers using peal mussel habitat classifications
  • Dedicated pearl mussel protection plans

Benthic macro invertebrate identification

 

We can deliver a range of identification services for macro invertebrates in support of river restoration, pollution response and monitoring, and water resource use.

Beaver survey and guidance

 

Following changes to the law in May 2019, the European beaver is now a protected species in Scotland.

We can offer a range of survey options to assess the presence of beaver, the implications for your project, and guidance and next steps needed (if any).