Salmon and sea trout numbers lowest on record in Wales

NRW says every fish returned safely to the water after being caught could contribute to improving fish populations

Salmon and sea trout numbers are at the lowest levels since records began in the 1970s, new figures from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) show.

They also reveal that 91% of Welsh salmon rivers are deemed as at risk of losing salmon populations altogether.

Swansea fisherman Vince Rees, 72, said the situation was "depressing" blaming overfishing and raw sewage being dumped in rivers.

NRW has said more needs to be done to improve water quality.

Records for salmon and sea trout populations have been kept consistently since the 1970s.

Statistics for 2021 revealed not one of the 23 salmon rivers in Wales were categorised "not at risk" or "probably not at risk" of losing their population.

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NRW has also said stocks are now at risk of failing to maintain sustainable salmon populations in the future but there was no magic solution to repopulate rivers.

For sea trout rivers, 61% have been classified as at risk, 24% of rivers were deemed probably at risk and 12% were probably not at risk. But none of the sea trout rivers were categorised as not at risk.

There are fears 91% of Welsh rivers are at risk of losing their salmon populations

Mr Rees has been fishing in the River Tawe since he was 13 years old and is now a member of Llandovery Angling Association.

He admitted these recent figures do not come as a surprise to him.

"It feels like salmon levels are at an all-time low to be honest with you. Catches have declined over the last 40 years and there's no sign of any improvement," said Mr Rees.

"We're having problems with pollution and raw sewage being dumped in the rivers and that just adds to the problems too.

"There's no comparison since I started fishing in the 1960s. We've had overfishing at sea, pollution in the rivers and we just can't seem to get on top of it. It's quite depressing really."

'Sharp decline'

Natural Resources Wales has said falling fish populations is not just a trend in Wales and the UK but across Europe.

Principal fisheries officer Ben Wilson, said: "These declines are replicated in most other countries across the North Atlantic, where populations have declined over the past few decades.

"This has been most evident for salmon, but recently a sharp decline in Welsh sea trout stocks has also occurred particularly in south and south west Wales."

Salmon and sea trout require high quality freshwater to thrive and act as an indicator of the environmental quality of rivers.

NRW said it has seen anglers "react positively" to its Catch and Release byelaws introduced in 2020 but said more needs to be done to improve river water quality.

It also says every fish that reaches its spawning ground or is returned safely to the water after being caught could contribute to improving fish populations.