Not good news for the Usk.
NRWs conclusion is 100 C & R and more habitat work neither of which can be shown to be having much effect.

EXPLOITATION OPTIONS TO ADDRESS THE DECLINE IN STOCKS OF SALMON AND SOME SEA TROUT IN WALES – AN UPDATE

Fisheries EP&P Team, 18.11.16

Background

A shared vision

•         Fisheries of Wales are iconic and highly valued

•         Fish are valued as an important natural resource for Wales and are managed within sustainable limits

•         The status of Welsh fisheries is an indicator of the health and resilience of the natural resources of Wales

•         Fisheries contribute to viable, vibrant communities in Wales

Our Approach

•         Where stocks of salmon and sea trout are sustainable, then exploitation may take place

•         We would broadly seek to achieve relative and appropriate equity between rod and net components of the fisheries

Current Stock Status

Each year we assess the performance of our stocks using estimated compliance with salmon spawning and management targets, and assessments of sea trout catch trends.

Salmon

·         We have 23 principal salmon rivers in Wales, and all but 2 stocks (Severn and Glaslyn) are assessed as At Risk or Probably at Risk of failing to achieve their Management Target

·         Salmon are also a feature of six Natura 2000 sites in Wales that are designated under the Habitats Directive.  Stocks in the Wye, Usk, Teifi, and Dee are each designated as ‘unfavourable’ whilst those of the Eden and Gwyrfai are designated favourable.

·         There was no marked improvement evident in the 2015 stock assessments, and although 2016 rod catches indicate reasonable runs of early salmon in some rivers, this is tempered again by an almost complete absence of grilse from mid-August onwards.  Our monitoring on the Dee trap catch in 2016 is likely to indicate the lowest salmon run to date in 25 years.

Sea trout

·         We also have 33 main sea trout rivers, of which15 (45%) of the stocks are assessed as ‘At Risk’ or ‘Probably at Risk’.

·         Stocks in South West Wales are giving rise to most cause for concern.

·         Some improvement was evident in 2015 compared to 2014 assessments.  The 2016 provisional catches and observations indicate no substantial improvements. Monitoring on the Dee trap indicates sea trout catch numbers for 2016 remain around the long term average.

2016 juvenile salmonid monitoring.

·         We have observed reductions in salmon fry and parr numbers around large parts of Wales, often in excess of 90% compared to 5 year averages. In numerous sites there are no juvenile salmon where they would normally be expected.

·         This appears to have been the result of record high water temperatures in December 2015, although other local factors are also implicated.

·         There are also widespread reductions in trout fry, typically between 50-90%.  Older trout parr numbers are also widely down, generally around 50% compared to the 5 year average.

·         The anticipated outcome of these markedly reduced numbers in 2 cohorts of juvenile fish will inevitably be reduced numbers of returning adult fish in 2018 - 2021, especially salmon in 2019 and 2020.     

International Advice

Under  the NASCO (North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation) 1998 ‘Agreement on Adoption of a Precautionary Approach’,  salmon stock management  principles require that conservation limits and management targets are set for each river and that stock rebuilding programmes are developed for stocks that are below their conservation limits.  This system is implemented in Wales and England and is now increasingly being implemented across Europe and North America.

Internationally, salmon stocks are considered to be at their lowest level ever, and it is advised that fishing on stocks that are below their conservation limits should not be permitted.  If such fishing is allowed on the basis of overriding socioeconomic factors, it should be limited to a level that will still permit stock recovery within a stated timeframe.

The practice of catch-and-release (C&R) in rod fisheries has become increasingly common as a salmon management/conservation measure, in light of the widespread decline in salmon abundance across the North Atlantic. In some areas of Canada and USA, C&R has been practised since 1984, and in more recent years it has also been widely used in many European countries, both as a result of statutory regulation and through voluntary practice. Overall, more than 195,000 salmon were reported to have been caught-and-released around the North Atlantic in 2015.

Conclusion

Salmon stock levels in Wales are below the level that we consider to be either sustainable or desirable. Some of our sea trout stocks are similarly low and in an unsustainable condition.

Continuing to kill fish whist stocks are depleted is not sustainable.

Maximising the numbers of fish that survive to spawn is crucial, whilst other work is ongoing to restore river habitats, if we are going to protect our fisheries and improve their sustainability.

Our Preferred Option

After liaison and informal consultation with our Local Fisheries Groups, and taking full account of the evidence and advice available to us, we have concluded our preferred option to restore fish stocks to sustainable levels.  We will propose:-

•         Full statutory Catch and Release fishing for salmon in the rod and net fisheries across Wales.

•         Additional controls on nets and rods where sea trout stock are considered to be in poor condition.  Controls may include amendments to fishing seasons and the use of catch conditions to limit the number of tags available, and hence the number of sea trout taken, to sustainable limits.

–        Wherever Catch and Release rod fishing is in place – additional statutory method controls to prevent the use of methods that are incommensurate with high survival rates of released fish.  These may include prohibitions on bait fishing and the use of treble hooks

•         Possible further controls on net fisheries may be required following the Habitats Regulation Assessment of annual licencing.

Next steps

Work is ongoing on a technical case that reviews evidence and explains the preferred option.  This will be published to support a full public consultation early in 2017 with an ambition to introduce new Byelaw and Net Limitation Order measures as soon as possible.

Ongoing communications

We will report on progress at future meetings of our Local Fisheries Groups and through our website:-

https://naturalresources.wales/splash?orig=/