Salmon Conservation
The Atlantic Salmon has been coming home to spawn in it's native waters for many thousands of years. Over the last hundred, this great fish has become highly prized for it's sporting prowess. There can be no greater freshwater fishing sensation than the feel of one's first Salmon as it turns to take your fly. Salmon fishing in Scotland is hence much sought after and anglers generate some £250 million to the Scottish economy each year.
A
fresh Salmon is also good for the table and as such has become a valuable
commodity and much sought after by net fishermen, either on the open seas,
or at the river estuaries as the fish return to spawn.
It
has been realised many decades ago that unless our Salmon stocks are supplemented,
their access to spawning grounds assisted and netting restricted that
their numbers would inevitably diminish. The success of many river systems,
where all of these activities are controlled by one organisation eg. Rivers
Thurso, Naver and Helmsdale, bears testament to this.
Unfortunately, despite a reduction in netting activity on our rivers, the number of Salmon returning is still falling. We all need to take this very seriously and unless there is a combined action to preserve this great fish the numbers of Salmon in UK waters will continue to decline.
There is little doubt that the main problem does not lie in the river itself. Our rivers are cleaner and better policed than at any time in the last 40 years, though we need to remain vigilant in this respect. The current main threats are smolt infection and infestation around fish farms, marine mortality, drift net fishing and predation by seals on the coast.
Salmon
anglers can act in a number of ways to preserve this marvellous creature.
Firstly, we should all very seriously consider the benefits of catch and
release. Although the proportion of Salmon in any system which are likely
to be caught by an angler is less than 10% we should all be releasing
fish on a regular basis. The authors now always carry a small waterproof
camera when fishing so that any fish can be photographed prior to release.
Sure, if a fish is hooked in the gills and bleeding, it is unlikely to
survive but studies on the Ponoi have shown that if a fish is apparently
unharmed the survival rates are high. There is a real sense of satisfaction
and achievement in seeing a bright sealiced fish returned to the water.
A catch and release policy should particularly apply to the following:
- Spring salmon
- Autumn salmon which are coloured
- Autumn hen salmon
- Where a fish has already been killed by that angler, that day or week
Some rivers are introducing compulsory catch and release with tagging of the fish to ensure a subsequent safe journey ahead. There is no point in a fish being caught, tagged and returned, only to be re-caught and killed by another angler. We are not saying though, that an angler taking his first fish, or best ever fish should be forced to return it. It is all a matter of common sense.
Secondly,
we should all be supporting the various fishery boards and national organisations,
which have Salmon conservation at heart. Links to a number of important
bodies in this respect are shown at the bottom of this page. Please do
what you can to help.
Finally,
we should all have a sense of responsibility in the salmon angling sense.
Take time out to encourage an interest in river habitat, in freshwater
fisheries scientific research and in activities which promote the nature,
ecology and beauty of Scotland as we know it.
Fish such as this can again run our rivers. This 42 pounder was taken on 5th April 1955 at Park, River Dee by Major Foster. A truly marvellous fish.
Salmon Conservation Policy 2003 - Spey Fishery Board
The 2003 policy is a precautionary measure aiming to maximise the number of adult Salmon spawning in the River Spey. This has been derived from the views of it's Research Committee and the Spey Ghillies' Association. In particular the policy aims to preserve stocks of Spring Salmon which are highly vulnerable to capture and recapture until the end of June and again in September.
1. Catch and Release
- Until 30th June each angler must return the 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. fish caught.
- After 30th June all hen salmon and grilse must be returned.
- Throughout the season all stale or gravid fish must be returned.
- Escaped farmed salmon must be retained.
2. Method
- Where possible anglers should be encouraged to fish fly.
- Where spinning is allowed only one set of barbless hooks may be used.
- All hooks should be "pinched" or barbless.
On 1st October the Scottish Executive introduced a statutory instrument banning the sale of rod caught Salmon and Seatrout in Scotland.
The
River Spey, looking to the future, Dec 2003
By the end of August 2003 the Spey Fishery Board had planted out its crop
of 700,000 salmon parr which had been reared at SFB's Sandbank hatchery.
These fish had survived the long drought of the summer under the careful
eye of Jim Woods, SFB Hatchery Manager. After very careful and intensive
juvenile habitat surveys these young salmon were planted where they will
thrive and in time produce extra wild smolts. Some 300,000 were planted
in the River Dulnain, whilst the other 400,000 were stocked into other
small tributaries which are inaccessible to salmon due to man made or
natural obstacles.
I was treated to a tour of the Sandbank hatchery at Glenlivet in late October where they were keeping some 460 brood salmon up to 30lbs! These fish had been caught by rod and line, by anglers and ghillies alike during the closing weeks of the season from beats up and down the length of the Spey system. As I peered into their temporary circular tanks all fish appeared to be in excellent condition with no signs of stress or disease. I understand also that the new hatchery at Tulchan is also now up and running and between these 2 hatcheries they have successfully stored some 2 million eggs from these brood salmon stripped several weeks ago now. These young salmon once hatched in the Spring will be fed on for several months and then taken up to the miles of tributaries in the late summer to be planted out again. This development is really very encouraging and can only be of great benefit to future runs of salmon in the Spey system in years to come.
I gather that the recently implemented catch and release programme has also been a great success with a total of 70% of salmon being released by the end of the season, this is a figure of over 4300 salmon released. The SFB regards this as a real step forward and applauds the efforts of all proprietors, Ghillies and anglers concerned.
On a final
note it would appear that the salmon spawning has also been really excellent
on all three of the main rivers in this area, the Spey, Dee and Findhorn.
So despite a long hot summer the fish just waited until the autumn to
make a move upstream to their spawning redds. These salmon were presumably
waiting offshore until the autumn rains invited them to make their move!
So as frustrating as it was for anglers this last season, at least we
can take some comfort that our future stocks may well have been taken
care of.
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