Salmon numbers in the River Awe are in "free fall", fishing groups have warned

Salmon fishing groups have called for urgent action over the "unprecedented collapse" of a major run in Argyll. The 2017 count from the River Awe in the south-west Highlands is projected to be the lowest since records began. The group said this year's count from the Awe has only been running at a third of the 2016 count, which was itself only just above the all-time low since records began in 1965. The 2016 total was 807 fish, but STCS said the 2017 count may "struggle to reach 400", with 30 weeks of the season already past. They said juvenile salmon migrating from rivers in the south-west Highlands had to "run the gauntlet" close to lice-producing salmon farms the whole way up the west coast before reaching the open ocean. Roger Brook, chairman of the Argyll District Salmon Fishery Board, said rivers like the Awe were facing "a very precarious future", and called on the government to make changes. He said: "The Scottish government has promoted the continued expansion of the salmon aquaculture industry whilst refusing to implement adequate control on the siting of farms and the levels of sea lice on the farms.

Source: BBC News, 10 August 2017
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-40861649