TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK Meanwhile, with the start of a new salmon
Unintended consequences
Salmon fishermen calling for an end to netting may find that their own sport is soon halted too
WORDS JON GIBB
manage its own affairs might do well to take note of a recent development in the salmon fishing world. The SNP has received a stinging missile from a respected political and environmental campaigner from Iceland, ironically one of the northern countries upon which Scotland‘s independence dream is modelled. Orri Vigfusson, chairman of the North
P
Atlantic Salmon Fund, has accused the Scottish Government of presiding over a catastrophic decline in wild salmon stocks since it was given the devolved Rural Affairs remit 14 years ago. ‘Your country encourages and supports the
proliferation and expansion of unsustainable fish farms, you overfish your stocks and you encourage mixed-stock salmon fisheries that target the fish we have protected while they feed in our waters,’ said Vigfusson. ‘We have given these salmon safe passage in the belief that they will be allowed to spawn and help restore Scottish rivers. Instead, far from being rebuilt, your salmon abundance has declined by 80 to 90 per cent. This is principally due to the failure of your authorities to manage them properly.’ While the letter is hardly a mortal blow to
the SNP’s ambitions, it has not gone unnoticed by anglers that the letter has the support of the Faroese and Icelandic fishing communities, both of which have said they will resume commercial salmon fishing on the feeding grounds unless the status quo changes. Such a move would be disastrous for the survival of wild Atlantic salmon in Scotland.
rospective Yes voters in September’s referendum looking for an insight into the current administration’s ability to
‘At the heart of this thorny issue is the age-old dispute between rod anglers and coastal salmon netsmen’
season on Scottish rivers, the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards has joined in the call for immediate conservation measures. In a radical new policy move, the organisation which represents the country’s river owners is advocating that no salmon be killed in Scotland either by nets or rods before 15 May. Rather disappointing, then, that the very first salmon of the 2014 season – an 8lb bar of silver caught on the River Helmsdale on 11 January – was killed and a photo of it lying on the riverbank was widely published. Of course, at the heart of this thorny issue
is the age-old dispute between rod anglers and coastal salmon netsmen. Put simply, anglers believe there should be no commercial exploita- tion of the stocks by nets until the salmon recover their numbers. But is there not a funda- mental flaw in this argument? For a start, while Scottish nets killed 16,230 salmon in 2012, even with the widespread practice of catch and release on Scottish rivers rod anglers killed 22,682 fish. And while rod interests believe it is only the netsmen who are commercially exploiting the stock, netting interests point out that even with 100 per cent catch-and-release river owners are free to profit from lucrative angling rents on their beats. They too, they say, are exploiting the stock for profit. Why, they argue, should one fishery business be forced to close when another is allowed to continue? This seldom recognised discrepancy may be
at the heart of the government’s lack of clear policy. And we should never forget that Scottish ministers do have the power to cease all salmon exploitation (by net and rod) should they deem it necessary on conservation grounds. Alex Salmond opened the salmon fishing
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season on the Tay this year, telling the Dunkeld crowd that he has instructed the outgoing chair- man of Scottish Natural Heritage, Andrew Thin, to conduct a review into the management of wild fisheries. Salmon anglers should be encouraged that the Environment Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, has since specifically indicated that the management of coastal netting will be considered as part of this review. But we will surely make very little progress until we recognise that salmon anglers, even more than netsmen, are having a deleterious effect on the numbers of spawning fish. And, surely, neutral civil servants in Holyrood will also be quick to see that salmon netting stations are not the only ‘commercial’ exploiters of the stock. Be careful what you wish for. Should we all
cry out for the immediate cessation of salmon netting in Scotland, we may just find that it is not the only fishing method that is banned to help save stocks.
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