Marine Scotland Science: directory

Dr Craig D Robinson

Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Programme
Assessment Group
Field Station Manager

E-mail: craig.robinson@gov.scot

Marine Scotland Science, Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory Field Station, Inchbraoch House, Ferryden, Montrose, DD10 9SL, UK

Pronouns: he/him/his

Details of specialism

My main responsibility is the provision of quality assured data on the abundance of adult salmon and on the size and nature of the Scottish salmon and sea trout catch. These data allow assessments of stock status and the provision of advice on the management of salmon fisheries and conservation of salmon.

This is achieved through:

• the successful operation of three automatic in-river fish counters
• the collection, collation and publication of Official Statistics on the national salmon and sea trout catch
• responding to data requests from stakeholders, in line with Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation
• improving the quantity and quality of data available on salmon abundance and on salmon and sea trout catches 
• jointly leading the development of a national network of in-river fish counters, identifying potential sites and working with local bodies to ensure appropriate data collection and storage. Installing new fish counters as the need and finances allow
• overseeing a programme to collect information on the size, age and sex of adult salmon returning to the North Esk
• working with the University of East Anglia on the development of a machine learning tool to identify, size and count salmonid fish in video imagery

Main policy links

• salmon and sea trout fisheries
• wild salmon strategy
• salmon conservation regulations
• national fish counter strategy

External committees and responsibilities

• Scottish Salmon Liaison Group - Working Group on Fish Counters
• I previously represented Marine Scotland Science on a number of ICES and European Working Groups interested in the concentrations and impacts of chemical contaminants, including as co-Chair of the ICES Working Group on Marine Sediments in relation to pollution, 2014-2018
• invited reviewer for scientific journals

Papers of relevance

Belzunce-Sagarra MJ, Montero N, Rodriguez G, Menchaca I Franco, J Larreta J, Amouroux I, Bersuder P, Bolam T, Caetano M, Carvalho I, Correia dos Santos Romao MMP, Gonzalez J-L, Guesdon S, McHugh B, Menet V, Millán Gabet V, Perceval O, Regan F, Robinson CD, Rodrigo Sanz M, Rosa NF, Schintu M, Scurfield J and White B (2019) New tools for monitoring the chemical status in transitional and coastal waters under the Water Framework Directive.  In: Rodriguez A, Álvarez-Vázquez MA and De Uña-Álvarez E. (Eds) Perspectivas del agua.  Investigacion, gestion, y valores del agua en el mundo actual. Dykinson, Madrid. 200pp. 

Askem CE, Wright SR, Vannoni M, Robinson CD, White K, Lyons BP and Nicolaus EEM (2018) Spatial and temporal analysis of biliary 1-hydroxypyrene, hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase and muscle acetylcholinesterase activity in UK flatfish. Marine Pollution Bulletin 133, 872-880.

Regnier T, Augley J, Devalla S, Robinson CD, Wright PJ and Neat FC (2017) Otolith chemistry reveals seamount fidelity in a deepwater fish. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 121, 183-189.

Hylland K, Burgeot T, Martínez-Gómez C, Lang T, Robinson CD, Svavarsson J, Thain JE, Vethaak AD and Gubbins MJ (2017) How can we quantify impacts of contaminants in marine ecosystems? The ICON project. Marine Environmental Research 124, 2-10.

Robinson CD, Webster L, Martínez-Gómez C, Burgeot T, Gubbins MJ, Thain JE, McIntosh AD, Vethaak AD and Hylland K (2017) Assessment of contaminant concentrations in sediments, fish and mussels sampled from the North Atlantic and European regional seas within the ICON project. Marine Environmental Research 124, 21-31. 

Details of linked research pages

Craig D Robinson’s ResearchGate profile