The advice from WSA is clear, end your salmon fishing season now and give what fish that have survived the low, hot, deoxygenated and polluted river a fair chance of spawning.
Small lifts in water levels as seen late last week and falling temperatures will not repair the damage already done to our valuable stocks
There have been and are likely to be more fish fatalities due to fish just not surviving the highly stressful conditions of recent and current times. This related to the fact that fish have been stuck at the bottom of the catchment at the wrong time of the year.
Fish that have remained in the river will have lost a significant amount of condition and probably will not survive being played or handled – even if they swim away.
Salmon entering our rivers to spawn face many natural challenges and it is common to see fish with Saprolegnia, a cold-water mould, either leading up to or after spawning. These infections often follow some form of skin damage, allowing water borne spores to enter the skin and grow. Stress can also increase the susceptibility of fish to Saprolegnia. These stressors include physiological changes as fish prepare to reproduce, mechanical damage as they overcome obstacles, and environmental changes like prolonged periods of low flows and extreme climatic conditions as experienced in the river Wye this season.
So, once again advice from WSA is clear, end your salmon fishing season now and give what fish have survived the best chance of reaching the headwaters to spawn.
