Wye Salmon Association
C/O Stuart Smith
Peny Hil
Felindre
Brecon
Powys
LD3 0SU
Our ref: SG2415
Your ref:
Date: 2 April 2015.
Dear Stuart
Re EA Review of Salmon Stocking
Thank you for your letter regarding the stocking of Salmon into the River Wye following our meeting on the 25 February. During that meeting we did discuss the stocking that you wanted to undertake in the Wye, including an outline of the potential numbers of brood stock required to be trapped and the approximate numbers of juvenile salmon to be stocked. Your plans also included the placing of egg boxes containing salmon eggs into the river.
We then detailed the process that we would need to follow to grant permission for this to occur, the key objective being to assess if stocking of the salmon would have an adverse effect on the integrity of a site designated for a wild salmon population. This assessment would involve consultation with colleagues in both Natural England and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Because of the designation of the River Wye, Special Area of Conservation with salmon as the qualifying feature, it is unlikely that the assessment would show that the process of stocking would not have an adverse impact on the long term fitness of the salmon population.
Following its review and consultation, NRW has reached its judgement on how it will manage salmon stocking in Wales. That review, positions being taken elsewhere and accumulating evidence on the impacts of stocking salmon pose questions for the Environment Agency and our own position. We anticipate a need to undertake a review of our position on salmon stocking. However, we do not plan to embark on such a review immediately. We recognise that such a review will need to be properly undertaken and involve consultation with affected stakeholders. I have brought your concerns to the attention of our national fisheries team and they will be sure to include you in any future discussions.
We continue to work to improve the water quality and habitats of the River Wye, which we hope will have a positive impact on the salmon fishery in the river. We work with partners on the Local Fisheries Group to bring about these objectives, as well as undertaking regulatory and advisory visits across the catchment to bring about environmental improvements. I hope that in future we can work closely with the Wye Salmon Association to achieve our common goals in the catchment. I would be keen to meet to discuss how we can make this happen in the near future.
Hafren House,Welshpool Road, Shrewsbury , Shropshire SY3 8BB
Customer services line: 08708 506 506
Email: enquiries@environment-agency.
