PROPOSED NEW FISHING CONTROLS TO ADDRESS THE DECLINE IN STOCKS OF SALMON AND SOME SEA TROUT IN WALES – AN UPDATE

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PROPOSED NEW FISHING CONTROLS TO ADDRESS THE DECLINE IN STOCKS OF SALMON AND SOME SEA TROUT IN WALES – AN UPDATE

NRW Fisheries Team.

INTRODUCTION

Our salmon stocks are in serious trouble, having declined to historically low levels.  The same is true of about half of our sea trout stocks.  Neither can sustain uncontrolled killing of fish, as it is essential that we ensure all fish have the chance to survive and breed.

This phenomenon is widespread across the North Atlantic range of salmon, and the other jurisdictions in the British Isles and beyond are each currently addressing the same issue in broadly the same way.

Although there are several contributory reasons to stock decline, including mortality of fish at sea and poor conditions in our rivers including unacceptable agricultural pollution incidents, it is a fundamental requirement to protect our valuable breeding resource of wild fish.

Although most fishermen have accepted and adapted to the urgent requirement to return the fish they catch, so that they may survive to spawn, some have not.  About a quarter of anglers do not practice so-called Catch-and Release fishing (C&R), preferring to kill the fish they catch. In more normal circumstances this would be acceptable, however the great shortfall in fish now means that currently, killing them is not sustainable.

To ensure the conservation of our stocks, NRW concluded that new statutory fishing controls were required.  We talked extensively to fishermen and other stakeholders during a two-year process, and this culminated in a statutory consultation in the latter half of 2017 on proposals for new fishing controls.  Our proposals are for all salmon to be returned, alive and well, to the river by rod and net fishermen, together with restrictions on methods to those commensurate with effective C&R fishing.  Similar constraints are proposed for the poorly performing sea trout stocks.

This note sets out the background to this.