Talking of mumbo jumbo see below a report of the river Wye by the much travelled egoistical WUF director from a recent hatchery/stocking debate made in Ireland,.   I hasten to add many comments on this report so please read it yourself and see if you recognise your river.

However I must comment on this paragraph,

"The work carried out by the Wye and Usk foundation has led to a dramatic increase in fish numbers and distribution throughout the river and its tributaries. Roughly 80% of the system is now considered to be in good condition for salmon, up from only 12% in 1996."

Were it even true how is it that in 1997  12% of available spawning habitat produced a rod catch around 1,700 and yet, nearly 20 years later and the spending of god knows how many millions of pounds, 80% of claimed available habitat can produce a rod catch of around 1150 and only half of that last season, which was arguably the worst ever in real terms.
Answers on the back of a postage stamp please.

TALK 4

“An alternative to stocking, the rejuvenation of the Wye system”

Dr. Stephen Marsh-Smith OBE, Wye and Usk Foundation

           

Dr. Stephen Marsh-Smith of the Wye and Usk Foundation gave a refreshingly positive account of the rejuvenation of the Wye system and that of its native salmon population. Interestingly, although the Wye has historically had 4 hatchery programmes, none of them are associated with a significant increase in salmon stocks. Instead, the first Wye hatchery was built in 1974, the year in which the Wye had its largest run ever, and was followed by a near total stock collapse (94% decline based on catch returns) over the subsequent 28 years.

Following its registration in 1995, the Wye and Usk Foundation’s first task was to identify factors limiting salmon production within the system. Through extensive sampling, monitoring, and mapping it was discovered that the devastating decline of the Wye salmon stocks was largely attributable to human influences within the freshwater system itself. Water quality had deteriorated dramatically due to acidification from commercial forestry and acid rain. The use of sheep dip by farmers had severely damaged aquatic invertebrate populations, while abstraction had resulted in decreased flow rates. Overexploitation of the salmon stock was rife and, perhaps most importantly, man-made barriers to migration such as weirs had cut off access to huge amounts of spawning habitat.

In the intervening years the Wye and Usk foundation have built 68 fish passes and removed 19 weirs, thus opening up 739km of new habitat to salmon and trout. Acidification associated with forestry has been controlled, bringing significant areas of spawning habitat within tolerable PH levels. Phosphate levels are also much improved and river banks have been fenced off from livestock, allowing for recovery of degraded riparian vegetation and the aquatic habitat.

The work carried out by the Wye and Usk foundation has led to a dramatic increase in fish numbers and distribution throughout the river and its tributaries. Roughly 80% of the system is now considered to be in good condition for salmon, up from only 12% in 1996.

According to Dr Marsh-Smith, hatcheries are used to treat the symptom of declining salmon stocks rather than underlying problems. As a result of their reliance on hatcheries, many fisheries neglect to engage with the sort of rejuvenation work that has been carried out on the Wye in recent years. Barriers to wild salmon production are allowed to persist and disproportionately expensive hatcheries become permanent features of the fisheries. Dr Marsh-Smith emphasized the importance of the active involvement of river trusts and fishery stakeholders in river rehabilitation initiatives.

See the rest of the submissions HERE.

http://www.salmon.ie/2016/01/salmon-hatchery-conference-report-by.html