Scotland To Plant A Million Trees In Bid To Spare Its Salmon From Overheating

Salmon are considered cold-water fish, with their preferred temperature range being between 40ºF and 50ºF. Warm water could also put salmon eggs at risk of not being able to survive, let alone hatch. 

Rising global temperatures have meant that rivers are warming up, and this doesn’t bode well for the fish—or its consumers. 

This is evident in Scotland, where a large amount of salmon comes from. It was previously reported by The Guardian that in 2018, water temperatures in 70% of salmon rivers were too warm for the fish, and the temperatures could induce stress. 

Alleviating this could come in the form of natural shade provided by trees, which is what the Dee River Trust and the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board have set out to do. In 2020, the Million Trees Campaign was launched. 

Species including aspen, willow, hawthorn, and juniper, among others, will be planted with 250,000 being a starting number. As the name of the project indicates, the goal is to hit a million trees.

It’s not just salmon it’ll benefit; other wildlife will be able to take advantage of the trees as habitat. Plus, the planting will “recreate areas of landscape that have been lost for 2,000 years,” according to the Trust.

Donations are encouraged, with £50 enabling 25 trees to be planted, £100 providing 50, and so on.  

“The campaign to double our rate of planting is vital to the long-term survival of our salmon by providing cooling shade against rising temperatures,” states Trust Chair of the River Dee Trust, Sandy Bremner. 

“Other habitat work is making a difference in the short-term. And all our work is on target despite the huge practical and funding challenges of the pandemic.”

To encourage the campaign toward the 400,000-tree milestone, the local Burn o’ Bennie Distillery will be selling 30 sherry-seasoned 250-liter casks and aiming to donate £100,000 to the effort.

[via Good News Network and The Guardian, image via the River Dee Trust]