Salmon trust is fishing for a fix

SIR, – Although the exceptionally hot summer in 2018 can be blamed for the lowest recorded number of salmon caught last year, causing a drop to 3,178, the disappearance of Atlantic salmon returning to most Scottish rivers continues.

Fifteen years ago, Scottish rivers were a major source of rural income, with more than 120,000 salmon caught providing £1,000 of tourist income per salmon caught.

The Atlantic Salmon Trust, pinning their hopes on a study of what happens to the salmon at sea, which has resulted in less than 5% of the juvenile salmon smolts leaving the rivers returning to the rivers, failed to solve the problem. Meanwhile Iceland, reliant on the revenue from salmon fishing tourism, accepted that the major loss of salmon occurred during their juvenile stage in the rivers.

Less than 0.5% of river-born salmon survived three years in the rivers to migrate to the Atlantic Ocean. Climate change, floods and the increase in protected predators were the culprits.

Twenty years ago, Icelandic entrepreneurs stocked rivers, which were devoid of salmon, with hatched smolts, juvenile salmon.

Most of these smolts survived

the three weeks in the rivers to migrate to the Atlantic Ocean for three years.

The two short Iceland rivers previously with no salmon, are now the most prolific salmon rivers in the country, with more than 10,000 caught each year, and mostly kept by the anglers.

The Scottish Government, keen to increase tourist revenue, should rely on advice from rural entrepreneurs and gillies, rather than from central belt scientists and river board bureaucrats with their theory that farm-hatched salmon is not “natural”.

Mark Pattinson, Kishorn,

Wester Ross