Charles Inniss has sent this news to members of the River Torridge Fishery Association. It is great news for angling in North Devon.
NEWSREEL: XMAS 2018.
New salmon and sea trout byelaws:
At long last DEFRA has confirmed the new salmon and sea trout byelaws, which will become law and come into force on 1stJanuary 2019.
As far as the rivers Torridge and Taw are concerned:
- All salmon netting in the estuary will cease. Currently there are three licensed netsmen and their licences will not be renewed. Following on from the ban on drift netting for bass and mullet in the estuary twelve months ago, this means that all estuary netting (apart from netting for sand eels) has come to an end.
In my wildest dreams I never thought the day would come when I would write the above!!
- Being classed as rivers “Probably at Risk” there will be voluntary catch and release for salmon with the expectation that release levels are above 90%.
To support the new byelaws and to ensure as many salmon and sea trout are able to spawn successfully, the Torridge Fishery Association encourages anglers to return all migratory fish. In recent years the decline in sea trout numbers has been more pronounced than salmon, so returning sea trout is just as important as releasing salmon.
You can find all the details of the new byelaws on the EA website.
Have a great Xmas. Charles.
Dont forget tio send in those catch returns :- https://www.gov.uk/catch-return
