Fishermen and environmental associations are sounding the alarm about the effects of global warming, deforestation and the proliferation of parasites.

"I started fishing here in the 1970s when I was a kid," Ian Gordon told AFP.

"And at the time, no need to wait long to bring up a nice salmon!"

The number of "fish began to decline between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s," he says, "today only about 20% of the fish" present at the time remain.

It used to be that hundreds of thousands of young Atlantic smolts traveled through Scotland's rivers each year to reach the ocean.

A quarter of them then returned to lay eggs in their native waters, compared to only 4% today, according to the Spey Fishing Committee.

For the whole of Scotland, where anglers are obliged by an environmental code to release their trophies, 35,693 catches were recorded in 2021, the lowest figure since the start of these fishing seasons. sad records.

A balance sheet "consistent with the general decline in the number of salmon returning to Scotland", estimated in June a report from the Scottish government.

Herrings and trees

For fishermen like Ian Gordon, this is partly due to overfishing of herring, a species on which "an entire ecosystem" in the United Kingdom is based.

For lack of herring, it is now the salmon arriving in the ocean that becomes the prey of the bigger ones.

“We have a real problem in the ocean. And climate change is of course the first factor,” adds Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of the Wildfish Scotland association.

"There's not much we can do," he sighs, probing from a bridge near Bonar Bridge into the depths of the Spey.

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"When the fish arrive in the sea, they clearly don't find all the food they need," he adds.

According to him, this is in particular due to the lack of trees upstream of Scottish rivers, Scotland having lost "probably 95%" of its forests in recent centuries due to wars, industrialization and agriculture. .

Forests help provide shade for marine species and slow mountain water runoff, ensuring a more consistent flow throughout the year.

All of this allows the water to stay "relatively cold, and the salmon need freshness to survive and develop", explains Mr. Graham-Stewart.

Responsibility of farms

Some organizations have decided to act.

The River Dee Foundation and the Dee District Fisheries Committee have since 2013 planted more than 200,000 trees along the river, aiming for one million by 2035.

In 2016, local groups removed a century-old concrete dam from the Carron River, allowing water to flow and making the path easier for salmon.

But that does not solve everything for Andrew Graham-Stewart, who also accuses intensive farms in the Scottish islands and the Highlands of playing a "huge" role in the disappearance of wild salmon, in particular by spreading sea lice.

The concentration of millions of fish in small ponds encourages the development of parasites, he explains.

The sea lice then spread to wild salmon, which end up being eaten alive by the parasite.

Fish farms refute these accusations, saying that protecting the environment and ensuring the health of fish is fundamental to their activities.

After a long session throwing his hooks into the Spey, Ian Gordon leaves empty-handed.

Removing his waterproof boots and attaching his fishing rod to the roof of his car, he believes that the salmon "give a good indicator to know if the sea is in good condition or not": "Right now they tell us +Wait a wait guys... something is wrong!+".

© 2022 AFP