This September, contractors Ben and Rory set off on a special mission – to reach Japanese knotweed on the River Tay by canoe!
Around Kinnaird Fishing beat, on the River Tay, there are several islands with Japanese knotweed infestations. The knotweed will have reached these islands years ago when fragments of the plants – either roots or stems – were washed down by the river after being strimmed or cut from infestations further upstream.
The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative has been tackling Japanese knotweed on the River Tay since 2018 but these islands are especially tricky to reach. The sites were first treated two years ago when the local ghillie was able to ferry the team over on a small boat – but the topography has changed since then, so paddling is now the best option.
Luckily, Ben and Rory were able to go with the flow on this one and have the skills and experience to navigate their way by canoe. This years’ treatment was predominantly clean up work, as the sites have already been treated once before. All went well – you could even say swimmingly…
It is important to get all infestations in a river catchment, especially in this area as there is an active beaver population. Beavers can spread Japanese knotweed when they feed on the plant, which risks undermining our control work across the wider catchment. On the River Tay, Japanese knotweed is currently controlled from Loch Tay and Loch Rannoch, the upstream sources, all the way down to Stanley which is our current downstream limit.
We are very pleased to have been able to carry out this control work on the islands this year. With thanks to Ben and Rory for all their hard work – and to Kinnaird Fishings for their support!
