See below the latest from the NRW regarding a supposed 12week  consultation regarding the future of hatcheries in Wales.  This is a total waste of anyone's time in my opinion and the result of the review will have probably already been decided.  By bet, any takers, is that the decision has already been made and the Welsh hatcheries will be closed, other than for research with Pearl Mussels and crayfish perhaps. After next season I suspect there will be no more salmon stocked into the Wye.  This will mean an end to the SNR ponds and all the work that's been put in unless another way can be found.  No doubt much to the jubilation of WUF who have almost certainly played there part as usual.  They and the disgraceful NRW deserve each other.

It remains to be seen on what grounds the hatcheries may be closed. If it financial then possibly they could be privately funded or fry reared elsewhere at independent hatcheries.  If stocking is stopped on so called genetic concerns then that's basically that.  Despite no evidence from anywhere in the world that hatcheries have damaged salmon stocks, especially by the SNR method, the current IN thing is to believe they have,might, could,perhaps. probably, maybe etc. etc. The usual mantra of the fishery scientists -always leave scope for further research , their jobs depend on it after all.
The strange semi scientist guy who runs the Fly fishing forum even believes that the Tyne hatchery actually delayed the resurgence of the river Tyne's recovery, as do some others right here on the Wye. Now't as queer as folks so they say!!


In Cyfoeth’s editorial, Emyr Roberts
introduced the background to the
sustainable fisheries Agenda for
Change, which sets out our approach
for agreeing the strategic direction
for the future management of inland
fisheries in Wales. Key to the way
Natural Resources Wales will work
is adopting an ecosystem approach,
and this will mean managing our
freshwater ecosystems by developing
action plans that tackle a wide range
of issues at their source rather than
mitigate just local effects.
Following a series of discussions
with interested communities we
have identified draft outcomes and
headline ideas that will allow us to
ensure that Welsh fisheries deliver
social, economic and environmental
benefits.
There are three key notable projects
that will be progressed under the
banner of Agenda for Change:
Salmon stocking and hatcheries
review
Natural Resources Wales’s key aim is
to ensure that Wales’s rivers have a
healthy salmon population.
We will review our work on salmon
stocking and associated hatchery
operations, looking at the rationale
and justification for rearing and
stocking of Salmon into Welsh rivers
and our own capacity to do this work.
The review will produce a short report
and we will be consulting fully on
these recommendations. The 12 week
consultation will open at the end of
February.
Stakeholder engagement
We will work with Welsh Government
to advise them on an effective
framework for engaging with
stakeholders with an interest in
and responsibility for delivering
sustainable fisheries.

Read more here.

http://www.salmonriverdata.co.uk/PDF...r Feb 2014.pdf

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