American Mink must be stopped
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CARNIVOROUS, aquatic invaders are having a negative impact on our wildlife.
And James Symonds, the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) project officer covering the Spey, Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie catchments, as well as the coastline, is looking for volunteers to monitor the area for American Mink.
He explained: "The aim is ultimately eradication. Mink are, however, amazing dispersers, so complete control is challenging. It is hoped that by controlling them from Perth to Sutherland we can make a massive impact."
The SISI project started in March, 2018 to deal with the non-selective predators that are capable of killing native fish, amphibians, rodents and birds. Invasive American mink was brought to Scotland for fur-farming and has been living wild in the countryside for over 50 years. They often kill more than they require for food at that time and their presence in the countryside can have a devastating effect on ground nesting birds and water vole populations.
"We have been very successful so far," said Mr Symonds. "I currently have 38 volunteers across my area and, together, we have managed to remove 31 mink, mostly from the coast between Burghead and Lossiemouth.
"Local schools have been involved in setting up and monitoring rafts on a short term basis, using wildlife cameras to learn about other animals on our rivers and helping out with Himalayan Balsam removal as well as learning about Salmon and going out on fishing days."
He added: "A mink raft and wildlife camera was installed on the Kinloss Burn and we await the results. Mink volunteers are typically set up with a raft on a nearby stretch of water with a clay pad that records footprints. The raft needs to be checked every two to three weeks and if a print is detected we switch from monitoring to trapping mode. Running traps is more onerous on volunteers as they must be checked daily by law so we run them for a week or two at a time. Some volunteers are unable or unwilling to monitor traps in which case a member of staff will manage it for a while or we will use a mink police unit which sends a text message should the trap be activated."
Anyone interested in getting involved should email J.Symonds@speyfisheryboard.com or call 07493 272898.
