The Grayling Society
The Gulf of Bothnia is the only known habitat for the threatened sea living Grayling
The county of Västerbotten and Norrbotten in Sweden have recently launched serious efforts,
using both traditional and hi-tech methods, to find a way to aid this unique fish – the “Bothnian” Grayling.
As a child I was not aware of the uniqueness of the fish I caught on the fly along the Gulf of Bothnia´s stony shores. Many years later though, I realized that it was a unique breed of Grayling that spawned in the Sea. From what I know, not heard of elsewhere.
Yes, some grayling close to the river outlets do choose the rivers and brooks for spawning, but the unique species of the Thymallus Thymallus that lives all its life in the Sea, does instead spawn on the shallow rocky gravel beds of the Gulf instead of on the gravel bottoms of the running waters.
Now, the County of Västerbotten is radio tagging the sea living grayling to find more about their chosen habitats, spawning runs and how widespread the nowadays sparse populations are.
To catch the fish suitable for radio tagging, they normally use conventional fly fishing with three flies and boat fishing with outrigging arrangements using a long line attached with multiple flies stripping the surface or below in slow speed. In Swedish this is called “Fiske med utter”. A method that previously has been very popular for catching a lot of fish for the households. Nowadays though, it is forbidden in most waters.
A new method in this study is tracking the movements of the grayling by an underwater drone. A method giving additional hope of finding new and vital understanding to aid the strained sea living population to survive and grow.
Watch this space!
Harry Salmgrén, Sweden Secretary
Affiliated member of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal
