Salmon Fishing Scotland 2008 Opening Day on the river Tay.

Salmon Fishing Scotland 2008 Opening Day on the river Tay.

This was an article in the Scotland on Sunday to-day written by Jeremy Watson.
Anglers face one-fish limit to save salmon
IT IS one of Scotland's mightiest rivers and famous around the world for the quality of its salmon angling.
But unprecedented new restrictions are about to be placed on the Tay to help save the king of fish as the new salmon season gets underway.
Under the rules to be announced this week, anglers paying between £50 and £400 a day to get access to the river's beats will only be allowed to take home one fish to help preserve stocks. As they must throw back the first fish they catch, they could very well go home empty-handed. Previously, they could take half of the total number of fish they caught.
From June, they will be also banned from taking female salmon because of the eggs they carry and all fish over 15lb will also have to be returned.
Although rod catches in 2007 throughout Scotland are expected to be up on the previous year due to perfect angling conditions, the number of fish returning to their home rivers has remained static, underlining the need for new conservation initiatives.
The tougher restrictions are being brought in by the Tay Salmon Fisheries Board, the Tay Foundation and the Tay Ghillies Association to mark the start of the new season on Tuesday.
Duncan Glass, the Association's secretary, said: "The catch-and-release policy will be far more strict this year.
"The general rule will be just one fish to take home per day. Then from June you will be expected to return all hen fish and all fish over 15lbs so that bigger fish have a better chance of returning.
There will also be restrictions on bait, such as worms, up to June. Worms tend to be swallowed deep into the throat which makes it difficult to release fish alive because of the internal damage.
Glass added: "We have had a catch-and-release policy in place before but there has been too much slackness in enforcing it. The first year only 10% were returned, and even though it is now 50%, it is behind other rivers.
"More fish are killed on the Tay every year than any other salmon river in the UK, so if we can get the rate up to 75% then that will be a real achievement."
A balance had to be struck between conserving fish and attracting anglers. "We don't want to chase anglers away to places like Norway and Russia, so if we allow them to take one fish home that's something," Glass said.
Fishing beat proprietors have been warned that unless they comply with the rules even tougher regulations could be introduced.
The results of the Tay's catch-and-release record compare unfavourably at around 35% with the Dee, where the figure has risen to 96%, the Spey at 71%, and
the Tweed at 54%.
The Association of Salmon Fisheries Boards, which regulates salmon angling in Scotland, said tough conservation methods were vital to preserve the salmon's long-term future.
The new restrictions will please conservationists but some anglers believe the balance may be swinging too far.
TV presenter Fiona Armstrong, a longstanding salmon fishing enthusiast, said: "If the restrictions become so tight you can't take anything, then you won't want to fish there. It's not like coarse fishing where you throw everything back as a matter of course. With game fishing, a big element of it is that you are fishing for the pot."
And the president of the Scottish Anglers' National Association Ronnie Picken warned: "There will always be some fishermen who have fished all their lives and taken what they liked. I doubt that will change whatever restrictions are brought in."