Cornish Biodiversity Network - Supporting Wildlife Recording
The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Habitat & Distribution
This is the only native species of trout in Britain. It is a widely distributed anadromous
species, found predominantly in northern and south-western England, Wales, Scotland and the Scottish islands. They are also present in the rivers and chalk streams of the south coast of England. They are found throughout Cornwall where they require clean, well-oxygenated flowing waters with mainly cobble and gravel substrates. Areas with abundant cover, provided by the substrate, undercut banks and aquatic vegetation, are favoured. Adult trout also require holding areas to provide refuges on their migration upstream to spawn. They are also occasionally caught in the open sea around Cornwall by anglers and in nets set for other fish species. This species is intolerant of pollution, affected by habitat degradation, over-extraction of water and impeded access to their spawning grounds. It is protected under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act (1974) and is on the UK List of Priority Species.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.