Loch Ness

[tonyc@foe.co.uk (Tony Canning)]

> There are also reports of a sturgeon over 800 Kg. being taken in the 
> Fraser shortly after the turn of the century. I have the article at home and 
> will post it next week. Does anyone know if there are Sturgeon in the loch
> and how big they might get?
> 
> --BP
> 

>BP,
>   Bingo!!!  I recently heard that not only are the sturgeons of huge  
>proportions in the Loch,  but that someone had unearthed an article  
>from the mid 1800's,  spefically citing a giant sturgeon in the loch.  
>I now believe that this is behind the "actual" sightings.

>Bob

According to my records (source: Freshwater Biology Association, UK) up
to 1972, sturgeon are rare vagrants in Scottish waters, and there is no
breeding population. They have been taken from the Moray Firth, but not
the loch itself.  The maximum size is given as 250 cm.  

Other explanations have included salmon, otters, waves and trees - there
was some experimental evidence published some years ago that pine trees 
falling into lakes initially sink, and then rise to the surface when gas
builds up, where they can skid along the surface.

However, most so-called sightings are almost certainly outright hoaxes,
and I doubt whether the misinterpretations of normal phenomena would 
have occurred without the hype generated by hoaxes.  Few people in the UK
take Loch Ness monster sightings seriously anymore.