THE latest technology is being used to monitor the North-East's soaring numbers of salmon and sea trout.

Fisheries scientists in York have been sent a new lightweight fish trap, devised in Canada, which can endure any river-flow conditions.

The trap sits in the river and monitors the number of young salmon and sea trout, known as smolts, swimming out to sea.

The device is being tested in the River Tees and will be used throughout Yorkshire.

The results will show how fast the numbers of salmon and sea trout in rivers such as the Tees, Esk and Ure are increasing, and will help the environment agency draw up management plans for their future.

Richard Jenkins, fishery science team leader with the Environment Agency, said: "Our monitoring equipment up to now has been fixed in specific locations on the rivers and has been very labour intensive.

"This new trap will enable us to carry out a lot more monitoring, not only on the rivers where there is an existing salmon and sea trout population, but also on other rivers whose population is just recovering.

"Over the past few years, as Yorkshire's rivers have steadily become cleaner, we have seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of salmon and sea trout returning and spawning. It is therefore very important that we monitor these increases. This equipment, used alongside our existing systems, will give us a lot of valuable information."

Earlier this year, Environment Minister Michael Meacher announced that numbers of salmon and sea trout in the River Tees had increased dramatically, due mainly to the building of the Tees Barrage, which protects the river from pollution discharged into the estuary.

Big improvements were also overseen by the Environment Agency, Northumbrian Water and English Nature, alongside local authorities