GWCT waves off fisheries experts

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fisheries Team met this week to celebrate the achievements of Dr Céline Artero and Thomas Lecointre and wish them good luck on the next stage of their careers.
The pair, who are leaving to live on the French/Swiss border near Lake Geneva, have been instrumental in the SAMARCH (Salmonid Management Around The Channel) project.
Céline joined the fisheries team in 2017 to lead the SAMARCH research, tracking young and adult salmon and sea trout during their migration from freshwater to the sea; investigating their behaviour, migration routes and timing. Céline looked at the mortality rates during migration, researching the factors influencing fish mortality.
Thomas also joined the team in 2017 as research assistant on the project, and his technical and problem-solving skills have been a huge asset to the GWCT Salmon and Trout Research Centre.
The pair said, “Working on the SAMARCH Tracking project was extremely challenging for all the fisheries team but we are now having great and crazy adventures to laugh about and we are glad that the outcomes of the project will directly influence the management of Salmonids.”
Dylan Roberts, head of GWCT Fisheries and SAMARCH Project manager, added, “I cannot stress how grateful I am to both Celine and Thomas for all their hard work, often going above and beyond, working extra-long hours at all times of day or night to ensure that the work was completed.
“Celine’s dogged determination to get the work done enabled the collection of some fantastic data on sea trout and salmon, shedding new insights into their lives through estuaries and at sea. Good luck and best wishes for the next stages of your careers”
Despite moving to work in Switzerland, Céline will continue to collaborate with the SAMARCH project to publish the final papers and will return to the UK on mid-March for the final conference.
The results from Celine’s work are now being used to recommend improvements to the way we protect salmon and sea trout in estuaries and coastal waters in England and France.