River levels now pretty low on the upper river and running fish seem no longer to be an option. However there was excitement yesterday when an angler heard what 'might' have been a salmon jump near where he was fishing on an upper beat!!  Yes it is that bad.

Lower river still remains the best option and surely more fish will arrive soon and with levels dropping away they may get stuck there too unless we get more water.

Two fish reported yesterday by WUF.  Again no names like several previous others so I for one am not recording them for obvious reasons.

Todays rain mostly on the east side of the catchment should make little difference in levels, certainly on the middle/upper river though more is forecast overnight.
No fish reported again so far.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Perhaps a few points from yesterdays minutes are worth looking at.  By the way I am not allowed to attend these meetings to represent RWGA,  It seems that some 'other' people would not attend these meetings if I did.  In some ways I take that as a compliment as they may be unwilling to answer some questions I might ask them.  democracy in action.

Anway some points.

 The group were reminded that NRW is a fact-based organisation. While opinions were welcomed and valued, decisions were made based on evidence.
NO ITS NOT ACTUALLY IS IT. THE DECISION, BECAUSE THATS WHAT IT IS TO STOP STOCKING IS NOT FACT BASED AT ALL. WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE.
OH AND YOUR OPINIONS WILL BE WELCOME BUT AS THEY IN THEIR OPINION ARE NOT FACT BASED WE WON'T BE TAKING ANY NOTICE.

 It was confirmed that all responses were welcome, including those from English addresses. All responses would be considered but not all would be replied to.
PERSONALLY I DON'T THINK THEY WILL BE CONSIDERED WHICH IS WHY YOU WON;'T BE GETTING A REPLY.

 It was confirmed that Wye stock was complex and remained ‘at risk’ but that there was an upward trend. The job was certainly not done but scarce resources had to be used carefully. The most important thing for salmon conservation was to stop killing fish everywhere.
SO DESPITE WUF CLAIMS THE WYE STOCK IS STILL AT RISK AND WE CAN'T KILL ANY MORE FISH AS WE HAVE 100 % C AND R.  WHY DOES THIS NOT APPLY TO THE USK I WONDER.

 The update on hatcheries was concluded with the view that wild populations should be left to manage themselves and that science shows that stocking presents a risk.
IF WILD STOCKS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO MANAGE THEMSELVES WHY ARE WE DOING ALL THE EXPENSIVE HABITAT WORK AND NO SCIENCE SHOWS THAT STOCKING PRESENT A RISK.  SHOW US11

 Evidence from electrofishing surveys on the upper Wye and Irfon would be brought to the next meeting.

wE WILL ALL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT AS LONG AS THEY ARE COMPLETE AND NOT THOSE DONE BY WUF THEMSELVES.

 WUF had applied and been appointed to be the host on the Wye in England. NRW are the corresponding lead across Wales and were therefore involved with WUF on the Wye to make it a true catchment based approach both sides of the border.
 The idea was getting a wide sectorial involvement. There were to be a series of workshops, led by WUF.

OH DEAR - THE MEDICINE AS BEFORE. HOW CAN A CHARITY WHO REPRESENTS NO ONE AS FAR AS I CAN SEE AND HAS NO MANDATE TO TAKE ON THIS TASK BE INVOLVED IN THIS' ' PARTNERSHIP'. IF SO THERE WILL BE NO WIDE SECTORIAL INVOLVEMENT OTHER THAN SYMPATHETIC , OR SHOULD THAT BE SYNCOPHANTIC BODIES.

I would leave you with the below to dwell uponFacts -but whose facts are they looking at?

Chiasson 2013

What Works? A Workshop on Wild Atlantic Salmon Recovery Programs.  Atlantic Salmon Federation Workshop, Sept. 18 - 19, 2013 New Brunswick -

Based on normal returns, this indicates a +10% survival from marked fry to smolts. Number of broodstock females = 220; ie., return of 6225 fish = 28 returns per female. Natural spawning escapement for same time frame = 34 million eggs; minimum 3400 females. For the 14,879 unmarked return, this = 4.4 fish per female, which indicates the advantage of the hatchery process, over six times the return per female. To put this in perspective, in a river receiving only 50 % of required spawning escapement, removing 10% of these for a hatchery/incubation box process (5% of total) could yield the equivalent of an additional 30% to returns -, the same as a natural 75% of required spawning escapement- and over time, if performed each year, is cumulative to some extent, as shown by Nepisiguit returns.