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Rivers and Lochs

The largest freshwater river of the peninsula flows into Applecross Bay. This supports small numbers of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta), with the river currently the focus of a restoration programme.This was launched by the Applecross Trust in 1995 to invigorate the natural populations that had become severely depleted. The river also provides a habitat for freshwater peal mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera), a critically endangered species that survives only in fast-flowing rivers with gravel bottoms. Together with the Atlantic salmon, this species is protected, and it is illegal under European and UK law to disturb, injure or collect it. The many freshwater lochs of the peninsula support brown trout, a freshwater non-migratory version of sea trout. The area’s rivers and lochs are home to otters (Lutra lutra), with water voles also recorded in the area.

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