Some beautiful footage of a herring spawn ground found near Gairloch in Wester Ross
A huge area of herring spawn has been discovered near Gairloch in Wester Ross. Scallop divers made this remarkable discovery on 27th March 2018. Divers, Ruaridh Maclennan and Alex Cameron, were fortunately able to film what they saw that day. This was the first recording of herring spawn in the Gairloch area for many years. Herring stocks were previously wiped out by overfishing in the 1960s and 70s.
The site is south west of Gairloch village at a point where the Inner Sound meets the Minch. It is hoped that this find is a positive step towards the restoration of herring stocks. It straddles a marine area which is closed to dredging boats and there are now calls for that protection to be extended across the whole spawning ground. The concern is that gear could be dragged along the sea bed and damage the eggs when they are at their most vulnerable.
Efforts have been under way for several years to “rediscover” wild herring in the Gairloch area. The site where eggs have been found was first identified as being important for herring spawning nearly 100 years ago.