I welcome the
opportunity to comment on the newly formed NRW from my own
experiences of fishing the River Towy for the last 25 years on many
of its association & private waters along its entire
length.
Over the last
15 years, I have seen a dramatic decline in the number of Sewin
running the Towy. 15 years ago, it would not have been uncommon to
hear 100 Sewin jumping at night in the pools on the tidal limits of
the river in the peak months of June & July and to have a
“pull” on every other cast. Over the last few years, I
have fished these same beats in similar condition and not heard a
single fish jump or had any takes. I believe the following issues
are a major contributing factor to the decline in our fish
stocks.
- Illegal Nets in
Carmarthen Bay – It is
well known that there are a huge number of gill netters operating
in Carmarthen Bay (approximately 90 licences granted last year).
There are also a couple of larger vessels operated by criminal
gangs that can be seen operating in Carmarthen Bay most nights in
the spring & summer. These netsmen are free to fish every night
of the week and are totally unregulated. There has been one recent
prosecution but I believe this to be the tip of the iceberg. Why
are the NRW not doing more to tackle these illegal
netsmen?
- Legal Nets
(Seine & Coracles) – In
2014, the coracles declared a catch of 791 Sewin for a total weight
of approximately 5000lb. Most larger Sewin are usually hen fish
that can produce approximately 800 eggs for every 1lb in weight. If
we assume conservatively that 3000lb of fish caught were hens (3000
x 800 = 2,400,000 eggs). These are rough calculations but how can
this be justified when fish stocks are at an all-time low? These
net fisheries have no catch limits and no thought for future stocks
whilst the NRW stand idly by encouraging anglers to release all rod
caught fish. Surely it’s time for the netsmen to fall in line
with others who are doing their best to safeguard Sewin &
Salmon for future generations. I myself like many other anglers,
voluntarily release a large percentage of fish caught but it seems
all this good work by anglers is been undone by a small number of
netsmen who’s only concern is finding the best price for
their fish.
- Fish Eating
Birds – The
number of cormorants and goosanders are increasing on the river
every year. Last year, I witnessed 21 cormorants on one pool alone
on the upper Towy! I understand culling licences have been applied
for but yet again, the NRW have done nothing. Anglers who fish the
river on a regular basis are fully aware of the scope of problem.
Unfortunately, when listening to senior representatives of the NRW
speak at club AGM’s & CFF meetings, it seems they no idea
how many FEB’s are currently on our rivers and are oblivious
to the damage they are causing.
- Farm
Effluent – The
Towy valley now contains a large number of “super dairy
farms”, all of which produce huge volumes of slurry. This
slurry is spread regularly onto the fields and in periods of wet
weather, the runoff from the slurry can be seen entering the
watercourses which I assume must have a detrimental effect on the
water quality. Is there a suitable and effective water quality
monitoring programme in place to ensure our watercourse
aren’t been polluted by the excessive slurry
spreading?
- Stocking
Policy – Our
hatcheries have been closed based on “scientific
evidence”! Other rivers such as the Helmsdale in Scotland and
Ranga in Iceland have successful long term stocking programmes.
Both of these rivers produce a phenomenal number of fish that
attract anglers from all over the world. How can the NRW justify
closing our hatcheries at a time when rivers in Wales probably need
them more than ever when they have been shown to be so effective on
other rivers throughout the world?
I seriously
doubt whether the NRW realise how valuable an asset Salmon, and
especially the Sewin is to the rural economies of Wales. Anglers
travel all over the world in pursuit of Salmon & Sewin spending
considerable sums of money in local economies on hotels, food,
& fishing generating hundreds of jobs. It is difficult to
quantify how much a rod caught fish is worth to the local economy
but studies carried out in Scotland estimate that a rod caught
salmon could be worth £10,000 to the local economy whilst a
net caught one £5. Do the NRW realise or understand the
potential value of rod fisheries to the local economy? I doubt it
very much.
. Alun Davies,
minister for natural resources and food stated recently that
"The passing of this order is the culmination of a great
deal of time, effort and hard work and means that Natural Resources
Wales now has all the legal powers it needs to hit the ground
running.
"The order will enable Natural Resources Wales to take
important decisions that affect Wales’ environment and
economy, whilst also ensuring it remains accountable to Welsh
Ministers”
The evidence if
there from this and the many other documents submitted as part of
this consultation. Surely it’s about time the NRW woke up and
started exercising its legal powers before it’s too late and
our fisheries suffer a total collapse.
Regards
Neil
Thomas