APRIL 2021 . ISSUE 01
MEMBER UPDATE Salmon & Trout Conservation
A twice-yearly update for members NICK MEASHAM, CEO I want to welcome you to the first of a twice-yearly update on the campaigns and project work you support. From Water Action and SmartRivers to Salmon Farming your commitment enables the work we do to safeguard wild fish and their waters. We will also be launching a new title in May, as a successor to Gamefisher, called Wild Fish. We hope you like it. Lockdown restrictions have not diminished the threats to wild fish or their waters - from abstraction and pollution to the impacts of salmon farming. Nor has it cut our efforts to prevent them.
This issue: How can you help? PAGE 2
The River Ribble: a case study PAGE 3
Wild salmon face critical risk PAGE 4 & 5
Between 22 - 29 April we are taking part in the Green Match Fund, for environmentally focused charities. Donations made during this week will contribute to advances in our SmartRivers programme and the first £2,500 raised will be doubled by the Green Match Fund itself - one donation, twice the impact. You can donate here or find more details on page 7. Thank you for your vital and dedicated support.
Shaping water policy PAGE 6
The science behind the action PAGE 7
An interview with Jack Perks PAGE 8
One donation, twice the impact The Green Match Fund Donate here
MEMBER UPDATE
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Annabelle Hawtry: an astonishing gift Annabelle Hawtry was not a member or known to us. Nonetheless Annabelle, who lived in Tunbridge Wells, left a truly astonishing gift to S&TC in her will. Annabelle came from a theatrical family and herself was a set designer at Glyndebourne. She never married and we have been told that she “loved her fishing”! The gift that Annabelle left has been used to pursue work on behalf of wild salmon, trout and sea trout in lobbying for the enforcement of farming rules for water. Agricultural pollution is a massive problem and we are demanding the Environment Agency inspects and stops polluting farmers from destroying our rivers, Annabelle's gift will go towards further work in this area.
What can you do to help? DONATE to support further research and protection of wild fish and their waters SHARE our work and help inspire others to speak up SUPPORT the Green Match Fund and contribute to advances in our SmartRivers programme
Image credit: Don Stazicker
Keith Howman: a well travelled life Keith Howman has written and produced his memoirs in aid of the World Pheasant Association. Keith has visited over 50 countries and fished in more than 30. In his memoirs he revisits his extensive travels from Nepal to Pakistan and beyond, as well as his fishing trips around the world. Copies can be purchased for £65 (including P&P) from Barbara Ingman at the WPA Office, Middle, Ninebanks, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 8DL or by email office@pheasant.org.uk Keith will kindly donate £20, from all copies purchased by our members, to S&TC. To ensure this generous contribution is received please be sure to state you are a member of S&TC when making your purchase request.
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The River Ribble Running through the heart of Lancashire, the River Ribble begins its journey in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. The 75 mile stretch of river navigates a variety of terrains and changing landscapes as it flows downstream through open countryside and the market towns of Settle, Clitheroe and Ribchester before reaching the city of Preston. Like most of our river networks it is not without challenge. Just over three years ago it joined Salmon & Trout Conservation’s SmartRivers project. In an interview with Alan Davies and David Calvert, from Bowland Game-Fishing Association, we explore the Ribble and how they hope SmartRivers data will strengthen their conservation and habitat improvement efforts. Tell us about the River Ribble? With a south westerly flow heading towards the Irish Sea, the Ribble has two major tributaries the Hodder and the Calder. Geographically, the river system has been subject to the pressures of industry and agriculture for many years. It has also seen significant transformation of landscape alongside mounting environmental pressures. A major game fishing river, we have enjoyed fishing various stretches since the club’s origins in 1853. It is a good fishing river and enjoys many stretches of unspoilt countryside. What attracted you to SmartRivers? We have a long association with river monitoring and our members recognise the importance of both river management and habitat improvement to conserve the Ribble and Hodder. We have recently appointed a habitat sub-committee to help address growing pressures and in 2015 we stopped stocking the river, another driver to habitat improvement. We have been increasingly concerned about the reduced fly life along some of the northern stretches of our river for a number of years and getting involved with SmartRivers was a logical step to address this. Before we got involved with SmartRivers we didn’t really have a handle on how healthy the river was. The data we have gathered over the last three years will form the benchmark to identify priorities and pinpoint where effort needs to be concentrated. How do you think the river is faring? River monitoring has allowed us to identify areas of the river that are less healthy, largely due to pollution, which is unsurprising given the nearby agricultural landscape. Bank erosion is also high up the agenda and we have a number of bank restoration projects in progress to reverse the impacts including fencing and willow spiling.
Our efforts are currently focused on three main areas of work: benchmarking to gather comparable data on water quality, fencing off to prevent bank erosion and in river works at sites identified as less healthy. How has SmartRivers data supported river management? SmartRivers has given us information on invertebrate populations to support conservation works. From initial data capture we were pleased to find that, while not as good as they could be, invertebrate populations along the Ribble are adequate to support the wild fish - but far from perfect. As a SmartRivers hub we sample various sites along the river and have been fortunate to collect data from an additional site, on a different beat of the river, that has been fenced for over 20 years. This data has allowed us to make a comparison between fenced and non-fenced beats and identified a greater abundance of invertebrates in the fenced area. The data has also allowed us to identify three beats along the Ribble that are showing clear signs of stress. Highlighting areas of concern, like Giffords Pool at Long Preston. This stretch has suspected sewage outlets causing stress from urban pollution. The data enables us to target in-river works to combat these pressures. The greatest benefit of being a SmartRivers hub? Through the SmartRivers programme we have now collected three years of data. For us, the greatest benefit of which will be when we see the accumulation and synergy of all the SmartRiver metrics. This should allow us to draw a summary of the causes impacting the river and their effect. It is this data that will allow us to target our river management work. It goes without saying that SmartRivers has raised our awareness of invertebrate importance and the power of their data to determine river pressures. Finally, do you have a favourite stretch of the river, and why? David Calvert: “The middle reaches of the River Hodder, fondly referred to as ‘the queen of rivers’, is one of my favourite spots. A limestone gorge running through dramatic upland landscape it offers a secluded and picturesque place to enjoy the river and perhaps some of the best wildlife the UK has to offer. It defines what river fishing is all about”. Alan Davies: “I am particularly fond of the upper length of the River Hodder. During late May/ early June when the river is running low it offers some of the best trout fishing, alongside a good head of grayling for the winter months. It could be summed up as millionaire’s fishing. Seclusion and beautiful scenery far from the traffic noise and light pollution of our cities – a real hidden gem”.
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WHY WILD SALMON FACE CRITICAL RISK ON THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND Our natural environment increasingly faces threats to biodiversity, ecosystem productivity and habitats. Wild fish are no exception but, on the west coast of Scotland, wild salmon face additional and critical risk from the impacts of open-net salmon farming.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSALS FOR ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT? Practically, the process of adaptive management means a lengthy delay between monitoring wild fish and any action on farm. Sea lice can travel over 30k from a salmon farm. Decisions will need to be made on how many different locations need to be sampled for sea lice on wild fish, over what period of time, and how many fish need to be sampled? What if wild fish cannot be caught? The proposed system can only work if a very significant number of monitoring sites are chosen over a large area (up to 2800 sq.km.). A process that will take time to set up. The proposals raise serious questions if such a mammoth effort can really be resourced.
Without stronger Government regulation, for which we have been campaigning vigorously, wild salmon will continue to be harmed by the fish farm-derived sea lice which are widespread in Scottish sea lochs, found in numbers far higher than any natural background. Add to that the impact of mass escapes and fish farm pollution and you have a serious problem. Scottish Government intends, based on recommendations from the Salmon Interactions Working Group, to introduce a new system of monitoring for sea lice and responding to changes known as “adaptive management”. This system monitors sea lice populations on wild post-smolt sea trout (a proxy for wild salmon smolts) within a certain radius of open-net salmon farms and possible preventative action, to reduce on-farm sea lice numbers, is only taken if monitoring of the wild fish demonstrates adverse impact at a population level.
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Inevitably, to produce reliable findings, it will take a considerable time for sufficient data to be collected. Indeed, it is likely to require monitoring over several salmon farm production cycles. In fact, during a video conference in July 2020 a senior executive from the Crown Estate Scotland did not disagree that it would probably take intense monitoring of wild fish for at least three farm production cycles (up to six years) for any pattern of damage to wild fish to be discernible. Time, we believe, that wild salmon don’t have. Additional questions will then be raised about how the data is interpreted. Who decides on a suitable course of action to stop the damage? Where you have many fish farms, often owned by competing companies, which farm needs to do what? It seems likely that the opportunity for dispute and challenge (including legal action by salmon farmers) is enormous. We have seen how fish farmers are very happy to appeal against planning decision that go against them, they will no doubt do the same with adaptive management. This will cause even further delay before wild fish get the protection they need.
SO, WHAT IS NEEDED FOR EFFECTIVE REGULATION OF SALMON FARMING IN SCOTLAND? Put simply, the key to effective regulation is a universal and robust farm sea lice upper limit. Alongside, properly independent mandatory monitoring of fish farms and real - time reporting of data.
Our focus remains strongly on achieving a tough, regulatory system that can be clearly and easily enforced. One that is transparent with no cosy agreements made behind closed doors. That system must include an on-farm sea lice limit, independent monitoring of fish farms and mandatory reporting. With the continuing expansion of the industry, effective and enforceable regulation of open-net salmon farming in Scotland is now needed more than ever.
There should be a strict sea lice limit for adult, female salmon applied to all farms in Scotland. This should be set at 0.5 per farmed fish, dropping to 0.1 per farmed fish during the period of wild smolt migration.
Before adaptive management can be considered, we need action on the clear and easily enforced precautionary system of regulation to control sea lice numbers. Endorsed by the two Scottish Parliamentary Committees who carried out the inquiry into salmon farming in 2018. WE NEED A SYSTEM DESIGNED TO PREVENT HARM, RATHER THAN ONE THAT WAITS FOR HARM TO OCCUR. The current proposals, supported by both Fisheries Management Scotland and the Atlantic Salmon Trust, now under consideration by Scottish Government, conspicuously exclude any upper sea lice limit to be applied across all farms. There is no independent monitoring of on-farm sea lice being proposed. The fish farmers will continue to ‘mark their own homework’. Added to which there are no punitive sanctions for breaches. Fundamentally, the proposals do not pay any heed to the precautionary principle, contrary to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committees in 2018.
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Water Action: shaping water policy Water Action continues to focus on gathering evidence and using the best available science to shape and enforce water polices that help improve the condition of water environments. REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURE Three years on from the initial census and the introduction of Farming Rules for Water – regulation to reduce agricultural pollution of water - we will be re-running the Riverfly Census this spring and autumn. The Environment Agency (EA) do very little to enforce the regulations and it is of great concern that many farmers still don’t know that they even exists. With this in mind, we have decided to re-sample the original twelve rivers from the 2019 census. Sadly, we are not very optimistic for results indicative of a positive change.
In 2018 we provided evidence to the EA that pesticides, from Bakkavör’s Alresford salad washing plant, were entering the upper Itchen catchment and causing environmental damage to the water and its inhabitants. This came to a head in late 2020 with a decision from Bakkavör to close the site rather than implement measures to comply with increased monitoring standards imposed by the EA.
JANINA GR
Further investigation by the EA has demonstrated that just under 50 additional fresh produce washing sites may also be discharging pesticides into surrounding water environments without any monitoring. Sites identified include a wide range of food washing activities including potatoes, mushrooms, carrots and sugar. At the end of January, the EA wrote to 22 of the aforementioned permit holders with a requirement to assess their effluent discharge for pesticide contamination. If pesticides are identified in the assessment, the permit holder will need to apply for a variation of their current discharge permit which will include strict monitoring requirements. CHALKSTREAMS With just over 200 chalkstreams in the world, and 85% of them in England, we believe they should be protected. Using scientific evidence to illustrate chalkstreams require bespoke targets, we are working to raise the conservation status for these internationally rare and ecologically important ecosystems. To protect the future of chalkstreams we must end water companies’ reliance on aquifer water once and for all which will require developing alternative supply options.
The River Itchen, Hampshire
CHEMICAL POLLUTION 100% of English rivers failed the 2019 chemical health check according to the Water Framework Directive. This stark reality continues to put chemical pollution at the forefront of our work. We have maintained a strong focus on ensuring lessons can be learnt from the Bakkavör example and the actions taken against other permit holders potentially discharging unregulated pesticides.
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SmartRivers: the science behind the action Scientific evidence underpins the success of improving water quality for wild fish. A significant component of this evidence is the contribution of data from our SmartRivers hubs - volunteer groups created from partnerships with fishing clubs, wildlife trusts and many others. Despite the challenges the pandemic continues to present, SmartRivers continues to move forwards thanks to your support. SMARTRIVERS ONLINE SmartRivers training takes place over two days and covers sampling technique and invertebrate identification. Traditionally, both of these are taught in person. However, thanks to the development of new assets and materials, we can now offer day one online with an in-person refresher incorporated into training day two.
In Scotland, volunteers from the Flow Country Rivers Trust are participating in their first training session on the River Halladale and The Tay Ghillies Association have also joined up with SmartRivers to monitor the Lochay and Ericht. In Wales, South East Wales River Trust will see completion of benchmarking and the start of training on the river Cynon and North Wales Wildlife Trust, in collaboration with the Welsh Dee Trust, have also enrolled to monitor sites in the river Alyn area. Last but not least, we are working with Bristol Avon Rivers Trust to begin monitoring on the river Yeo and with Severn Trent to monitor the Linacre Brook.
BRIGHAM YOUNG
NEW SMARTRIVERS HUBS FOR 2021 Founded in 2019, SmartRivers has eight established hubs and over fifty trained volunteers. This is just the start. 2021 will bring further SmartRivers intelligence to rivers across the length and breadth of the UK.
One donation, twice the impact The Green Match Fund
Our rivers and the insect life that sustains them are in crisis. Government data shows river water quality failing & river life declining faster than on land. Our SmartRivers project monitors water quality, using the invertebrates which live in the water to identify the pressures facing our rivers, to target improvements in local and national river management.
Donate here
Between 22 - 29 April we are taking part in the Green Match Fund, for environmentally focused charities. Donations made during this week will contribute to advances in our SmartRivers programme and the first £2, 500 raised will be doubled by the Green Match Fund itself - one donation, twice the impact. If you are able please donate using the 'donate here' link. Your support will allow even more work to protect fish and their waters.
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S&TC 2021 Auction 09 September - 03 October A celebration of wild fish and their waters
An interview with Jack Perks Wildlife camera operator, Jack Perks is no stranger to life under the water and has become a regular feature filming above and below our waterways. Recently appointed as a vice president of Salmon & Trout Conservation we caught up with Jack on all things fish... For those who don’t follow your work, can you sum up what you do in 2 lines? I'm a professional wildlife camera operator and photographer. My focus is freshwater species especially fish. I occasionally write, teach and appear on the other side of the camera too! What motivates your interest in river conservation? Being by a river brings me immense joy. From summer days watching demoiselles fluttering up a chalkstream to crunching over frost covered leaves watching spawning salmon in Scotland, I have been fortunate to spend a great deal of time by British waterways. My time in these watery places has given me fascinating insight into the species that inhabit them and the hidden gems of the underwater world which many people simply don’t get the opportunity to see. Access to this hidden world triggers a need in me to share and uncover what I find, alongside my experiences, so other people get to enjoy them too. Why fish? It’s partly practical, birds have been done to death (!) and there is next to nothing documented on UK fish. Coupled with my love of fishing - anything from gudgeon on a canal to brown trout in the Peak District. Tell us a little about your background and how you came to be a wildlife camera operator? It’s probably a bit cliche but I've always had an interest in nature, mostly reptiles and as a child kept all sorts of exotic species. My interest in wild fish started at age eleven when I picked up a cheap fishing kit from Woolworths and was hooked – no pun intended. I went on to gain a degree at Falmouth University in Marine and Natural History Photography and spent three fantastic years living in Cornwall. Indulging in a bit of bass fishing and cliffside walking.
MEMBER UPDATE
Our annual fundraising auction takes place online between 06 September and 03 October. A celebration of fishing and everything it entails, from time spent in the glorious countryside to good food with good friends. We will be offering fishing days, tackle and flies, works of art that portray the joys of the river bank and much more. If you are able to support our most important fundraising event by donating a lot, please contact ursula@salmon-trout.org I then had to forge a career and moved back to my native Nottingham where I started filming the local rivers. It was here that I attracted the BBC’s interest and went on to film for their Springwatch series as well as presenting on The One Show and Countryfile. Do you have a favourite stretch of river? It’s definitely hard to pick one, there are so many to choose from and they all offer such different experiences. The Derbyshire Wye, Tamar and Spey are high up my list but if I had to choose one it would be the lower Test. Not as clear as its upstream counterpart, the lower Test is teeming with salmon and good numbers of coarse fish which you don't often find further up chalkstreams. On the lower stretches of the Test you can also find marine species like flounder, bass, mullet and even sea lamprey. I've enjoyed many lovely summer days on the River Test. In wild fish conservation, which area of work most interests you and where do you think we have the biggest challenge? I am particularly interested in species diversity, coupled with the challenge of conserving species habitat for healthy populations of wild fish. We need our rivers to support varied depths, currents, slacks and most importantly places for fish to hide away from floods and over predation. It is widely acknowledged that water quality is one of the biggest problems facing fish in UK rivers today and certainly were I see the biggest challenge. For far too long we’ve watched rivers suffer the impacts and aftermath of pollution and without more control this harm poses a serious threat to our wild waters and the species that inhabit them.
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