According to annual stock figures, the number of salmon in our rivers is at the lowest level ever recorded.
Data from the Environment Agency and the Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science shows that 90 percent of England’s top salmon rivers are classified as ‘at risk’ or ‘likely at risk’ – meaning numbers are so low that they are not can support. a sustainable population.
For Atlantic salmon – the type found in Britain – known as an indicator species, the low numbers indicate that rivers are unhealthy.
It prompted nature groups to warn the fall that “these beautiful fish are in danger of extinction.”
The provisionally declared rod catch in 2023 was 4,911 fish, which was 23 percent less than the final declared catch for 2022 and the lowest in the time series since 1988.
Salmon numbers are at their lowest levels ever recorded in Britain, with scarcity suggesting rivers are unhealthy (file photo)
Ninety percent of England’s major salmon rivers are classified as ‘at risk’ or ‘probably at risk’ (file photo)
Meanwhile, the research also shows that 88 percent of rivers in England will fail to reach their conservation targets for the level of eggs laid by salmon by 2023.
Research shows that the dramatic decline in salmon stocks is an international trend, with similar findings in Ireland, Iceland, Sweden and Canada.
But Britain showed the biggest decline, the report said. Agricultural pollution, sedimentation and chemical runoff from industries, wastewater and roads degrade their habitats.
Further threats include barriers to migration, lower water levels due to extraction and the challenge of climate change and warming seas.
The EA and Natural England (NE) said more action was needed from landowners and farmers, and from the energy, waste and water sectors to do more to protect the fish.
Alan Lovell, chairman of the Environment Agency, said: ‘Forty years ago, an estimated 1.4 million salmon returned to Britain’s rivers every year. We are now at just a third of that – a new low and evidence of the wider, growing biodiversity crisis.
‘The EA is already taking action to tackle water pollution, tackle barriers to migration and restore and improve habitats. We need all those who pollute to clean up their act.”
Tony Juniper, chairman of Natural England, said: ‘As a critical indicator species, England’s declining salmon population is a warning sign of the deteriorating health and connectivity of our waterways, and signals a threat to other species and local economies.’
The River Wear in Durham. More than 80 percent of England’s rivers will fail to meet their conservation targets for the level of eggs laid by salmon by 2023
Mark Lloyd, CEO of The Rivers Trust, said: ‘These results demonstrate the urgency with which we must address the many pressures on freshwater ecosystems at a strategic scale. Salmon populations are unusual because they are a factor in the health of both rivers and oceans, but many of the marine problems are beyond our control.
‘These beautiful fish are at risk of extinction on many of our rivers where they were once abundant, which would be a disastrous legacy for the next generation.’
According to the report, improvements have been seen on the River Trent – thanks to the creation of a fishing pass – and on the Severn thanks to efforts to unblock salmon migration routes. In England it is illegal to sell wild salmon caught in England with a rod or net.
About 95 percent of rod catches were returned by fishermen to rivers in England and Wales.