Note: This project is co-funded by the Fishmongers Company.

The Challenge

Rivers, and their non-human inhabitants, are under constant pressure from human activities. Pollution (in the form of sewage, agricultural runoff, and industrial contaminants) not only impacts human health but also poses a serious risk to wildlife.

Monitoring the species that live in rivers is an essential first step to better protecting them. However, the current statutory monitoring programmes run by SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) only covers 10% of water bodies, meaning there are significant knowledge gaps relating to the health of Scotland’s rivers.

Introduction to project

The Wildfish Smartrivers project is a UK-wide citizen-science project that addresses these crucial knowledge gaps while simultaneously training local people in the science of river monitoring. Volunteers identify and record aquatic invertebrates – a group of small, water-dwelling animals without backbones, such as insects, worms, and crustaceans. These indicator species give a detailed understanding of the pressures on the river, as they respond differently to various conditions – reflecting also the abundance of species higher up the food web such as fish.

Wildfish approached HIEF in Spring 2023 with a view to expanding the number of monitored rivers in the Highlands. Having successfully established ‘volunteer hubs’ for rivers in Sutherland, Perthshire, Moray, and Angus; the team looked to encompass three more rivers and better represent the diverse array of water bodies in Scotland.

Project Activities

Three new sites have been identified through collaboration with charity Buglife, who run a more general citizen science programme called Guardians of Our Rivers (previously supported by HIEF). This partnership allowed volunteers already interested in river health and freshwater ecosystems to specialise in invertebrate monitoring.

The three rivers identified were:

-River Findhorn, Moray

-River Teith, Stirlingshire

-River Dee, Aberdeenshire

In each of these rivers, five sample sites are chosen along the river and baseline data is collected by professionals. Volunteers undertake two-days of training in sampling techniques (such as ‘kick-sweep’) and invertebrate identification.

Monitoring then occurs bi-annually, in the Spring and Autumn, to detect seasonal variations in invertebrate communities and water quality. Data is collected, analysed, and shared with SEPA.

The project is running until the end 2026.

Outcomes and impact

The long-term datasets produced are hugely valuable for assessing trends in invertebrate populations, and how these are affected by both emerging threats and conservation interventions. Through sharing data with SEPA, the programme will directly contribute to national management recommendations.

Citizen-science equips local communities with monitoring skills, and raises awareness locally of the complexity and sensitivity of freshwater ecosystems.