The UK’s rarest freshwater fish found only in two Cumbrian lakes has been successfully introduced to a loch in southern Scotland.

A population of the small vendace has been established in Loch Skeen, near Moffat, thanks to work from The National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and experts from the University of Glasgow.

The loch sits in the trust’s Grey Mare’s Tail nature reserve.

Monitoring of the fish at Loch Skeen over the summer has revealed that the population has established itself well enough for breeding to take place and significant numbers of the fish to be evident.

The first vendace were introduced to the loch in the 1990s, with the stock coming from Cumbria.

At that point the only stable population of the fish was in Derwentwater, Keswick. More than lochs in south-west Scotland were assessed to find the right place to establish a ‘safeguard site’ for the species.

The silver herring-like fish had also been found in Bassenthwaite.

Richard Clarkson, property manager at Grey Mare’s Tail, said: “Vendace are our rarest freshwater fish. They have sadly disappeared from other lochs, mainly due to pollution affecting the water quality but also from the introduction of other fish species that would eat their eggs or the fish themselves.

“The species was extinct in Scotland before they were introduced to Loch Skeen, so it’s great that the trust has been able to help them out.”