Wildlife experts have discovered 130 opened freshwater pearl mussels at the River South Esk, downstream of Brechin. They informed that illegal pearl fishers have destroyed good numbers of these endangered species. It is said that the killing was one of the largest in recent time. Experts said that the indications are that mussels were taken from the bed of the river in the summer and opened to see if there was a pearl inside. They informed that the River South Esk has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation for its populations of freshwater pearl mussels. The fine for killing just one mussel can be as high as £10,000.
The illegal killing of pearl mussels was discovered during a survey at the river. Survey leader Dr Peter Cosgrove told that they worked hard to find these mussel beds – and dead shells – suggesting a similar effort must have been needed by the pearl fishers. He added that the pearl fishers would have to have systematically been in large areas of the river for many hours/days to find the mussels, plus the time taken to kill them and look for pearls.
Alan Stewart, Tayside Police’s wildlife and environmental crime officer, informed that investigating crime against the extremely endangered freshwater pearl mussel is one of the wildlife crime policing priorities set out by government and police through the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW). He told that the penalties reflect the seriousness, in that for each mussel killed the potential fine is £10,000.
Rhona McInroy, from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), explained that the most recent kills were a major setback. She opined that much time and money has recently been put towards improving conditions for salmon and freshwater pearl mussel further up the river by the Fishery Board, SNH and the European Union.
