Well that was the spate that was.  The biggest for some time but its now peaked of course and a period of quiet weather ahead.


Below is the latest from the WSA.   Now is your chance to join and at least try and make a difference  It's only a tenner and will be money well spent;

 

An update on progress of our proposed Salmon stock recovery project

You will I am sure remember that on 16^th September we wrote to  CEOs and Board Members of both NRW and EA regarding our grave concerns over the plight of Atlantic Salmon in the River Wye and to confirm our support for positive, non-confrontational, engagement in finding solutions. We copied this letter to the Minister responsible in Wales, Leslie Griffiths AM and the Secretary of State in Westminster Theresa Villiers MP along with our local MPs and AMs.

We explained catches of salmon have dwindled to such an extent that we have been urging NRW to change its policies for some time and certainly before salmon become extinct as a self-regenerating species. This seasons depressing return of around 340 fish only reinforces our request.

We were very clear the problem needed bold and urgent action and that continuing doing the ‘same old’ in the hope that things would eventually get better was not a viable option. We asked for a positive response and an opportunity to engage more formally to explain our proposals.

As a result, we were invited to meet the NRW Fishery Team on Tuesday 22^nd October, along with representatives from the Usk and Taff, to discuss a ‘Plan of Action’. Unsurprisingly this meeting was difficult focussing, at this stage, on matters that are well known but without providing any clear perspective for ‘bold and urgent action’.  

From a Wye perspective not what we wanted to hear, but again at this stage not a surprise, as given the depressed catch numbers we had hoped to discuss more positively the need for targeted actions to manage salmon stocks. However, we now have the opportunity to focus specifically on the needs of the Wye engaging with all those concerned.

Clearly changing NRW Fishery policy will be a challenge. However, we remain very eager to press on and are arranging a follow up meeting with Peter Gough in order  to push again our case for ‘bold and urgent action’ and present an outline of our proposals. After that meeting we will need to take stock and decide our way forward.

We have had brief contact with EA, who  await feedback from NRW before meeting us.

Our team have been very busy in the background working hard to prepare our case and developing ways and means of supporting our proposals. To this end we have recruited the support of experts in various fields prepared to aid our efforts.

We have also held discussions with organisations operating stock recovery projects for Atlantic salmon. Some report impressive results and we are seeking more information regarding their potential to form a template for the Wye.

As part of our monitoring plans our team have been keenly pursuing the use of new technologies for both water quality monitoring and fish counting.  Research of the latter has continued apace with plenty of information gathered from applications in rivers such as the Deveron in Scotland.

Your Steering Team continues to strive to get urgent action to gain recovery of salmon stocks on the Wye. As a famous person once said, ‘change is a marathon not a sprint’ We will keep you informed of progress.

Don’t forget you can support us by encouraging your friends to join WSA by going to www.wyesalmon.com/join-us

Stuart Smith

Chairman

Wye Salmon Association