Scotland's Freshwater Fish

About the Book

This book covers all the freshwater fish which are found in Scotland, including those which appear in fresh water from estuaries and the sea for short periods. It is the first comprehensive account of this important part of Scotland's biodiversity, dealing with the ecology, conservation and folklore of each species in some detail. Other chapters cover a range of associated topics. The first, background, section of the book has chapters on 'fishy literature', 'what's it like to be a fish', 'fish ecology', 'lochs and rivers, ponds and burns', 'fish distribution' and 'first catch your fish'. The middle section of the book, which deals with the 42 individual species which occur in Scotland, starts with a chapter on 'families of fish' and finishes with one on 'fish which did not stay'. The final section of the book deals with the main issues concerning the freshwater fish of Scotland, including 'fish communities', 'threats to fish', 'fish and people', 'watching fish', 'fish and fishery management', 'fish conservation' - ending with a discussion of the future for Scotland's freshwater fish and fisheries. There is an extensive bibliography and an index.

The volume is well illustrated with the author's own line drawings and some attractive illustrations from old texts. The species chapters each have a photograph of a typical fish scale, and diagrams illustrating distribution in Scotland, food and growth. There are many fascinating quotes from the older literature, and numerous, sometimes amusing, true anecdotes of fishy experiences in Scotland, supplied over the years by the author's colleagues. Everyone with an interest in fish will find something of value in this volume, be they biologists, naturalists, anglers, aquarists or pondkeepers.

About the Author

Peter Maitland was educated at Bearsden Academy and the University of Glasgow, where he obtained a 1st Class Honours BSc, and a PhD in Freshwater Ecology. He was then a Lecturer in Zoology there for five years. He joined the Nature Conservancy, which was then part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), in 1967 and moved to the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE, also NERC) in 1973. As well as carrying out research with ITE, he taught at the University of St Andrews from 1978-82 as a Senior Lecturer in Ecology. He remained with NERC until 1986, when he took early retirement, and he has worked as an independent freshwater biologist ever since. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Visiting Professor at the University of Glasgow. As well as research on freshwater fish, he also keeps many species of fish as a pastime in both aquaria and ponds. Watching fish in the wild is also a regular occupation. It's not all fish though (!), he is married to Kathleen and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren and is interested in wildlife, gardening and classical music.