Since 2019, Fiskaaling has been working on the Sea Trout Project, which aims to gain fundamental knowledge about sea trout migration. As part of the project, Fiskaaling staff have been in the river in Norðragøta today and yesterday, marking sea trout. Yesterday, Jón in Haraldsstovu and Óli Petersen from the Sea Trout Fishing Association (Føroya Sílaveiðufelag) also participated in the work. They brought an electrofishing tool, owned by Føroya Sílaveiðuflag, which they taught the Fiskaaling staff to use. The tool will be used to catch the sea trout.
When the sea trout is caught with a seine, they are sedated, then weighed and measured. Some scales from each sea trout are also placed in special envelopes produced for the Sea Trout Project. The scale samples will be stored for further research later. Before the sea trout are released again, they are marked with PIT (passive integrated transponder) tags. This means that when marked sea trout swim past two antenna setups placed near the river mouth, the system records what sea trout it is and where it is located.
Since the Sea Trout Project started in 2019, anglers have had the opportunity to participate in the project by sending envelopes with scale samples and measurements of sea trout to Fiskaaling. The envelopes are entered into a lottery for 10.000 tax-free DKK. The lottery takes place in December. The project is supported by the Faroese Fish Farmers Association.
Kirstin Eliasen, head of the Fish Health Department at Fiskaaling, is the project leader for the Sea Trout Project.
