HERITAGE bosses are looking for firms to repopulate Scotland’s rivers with fresh water mussels – after pearl hunters took the species to the brink of extinction.
Three separate kills of the threatened mollusc were recorded in the west of Scotland last month.
Police believe the mussels are being hunted by poachers who are looking to get their hands on a freshwater pearl – which can fetch up to £2,500 each and appear in Scotland’s Crown Jewels.
But the EU has banned fishing for the mussels and it is a criminal offence to disturb or kill them – it can attract a fine of up to £5,000.
Scottish National Heritage (SNH) said the freshwater pearl mussel is a globally at risk species with Scotland homing some of the largest remaining populations.
The recent kills -discovered in Harris, Skye and Lochaber – are said to have put those pockets of mussels at risk of extinction.
Deadline Press & Picture Agency 