Project: Ecological Classification Systems for Freshwater Fish Populations

Project Leader: Dr Robert Rosell

Project Objectives

1. To test a suite of lake fish sampling and counting methods for their suitability for Water Framework Directive assessments of ecological quality based on fish populations.
2. Once robust methods are found, to assess whether or not there are suitable metrics, based on fish populations, to make comparisons between lakes of differing anthropogenic impact and within lakes over time

To apply suitable metrics to fish based measurement of the High/Good and Good/Moderate boundary ecological states as defined by the water framework directive

To assess the relationship between results generated by old and new methods, and top carry out intercomparison to enable maintenance of time series fish population data (where it exists) over the changeover from older to new Water Framework Directive methods.