10 September 2023 News/Editorial
If there was a surprise last week, it was that as many as 50 salmon may have been caught on Tweed. Anecdotally, salmon, perhaps mainly of the smaller variety, are being seen in the pools, but with blazing sunshine and heat on most days, the chances of them taking anything were slim.
So where are we in terms of numbers caught as we approach 15th September and the end of spinning?
A back of the envelope calculation (thanks partly to the kindness of the Junction/Sprouston proprietor in advising that their joint catch to date adds over 450 salmon to the score) brings the whole river total to somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 to 10th September. Not bad, you would say, and you would be right, especially after August alone accounting for a hefty proportion of that total with an estimated 1,400/1,500 for the month. Only 2020 in the last 10 years has bettered that.
But, there is always a “but”, I hear nothing is being caught at the Foundation’s research net at Paxton, nor is anything being seen at the lowest beats, Tweedhill and Horncliffe. Make of that what you will, but 2023 continues to be remarkably like 2018 in terms of catches, the latter’s 5,644 salmon being the lowest annual catch of recent times. 2023 will do well to beat that.
Scotland-wide the story is similar, if not worse, with almost all rivers in every month failing to achieve their last 5 years monthly average catch. As some rivers close at the end of September, and the rest, bar us, at mid/end October, the chances of adding significantly to the catch score, are diminishing with time. It would be surprising if the Scottish rod catch 2023 does not turn out to be the worst of recent times.
As for next week, the heat wave will depart on Sunday night/Monday morning, maybe after thunderstorms, to be replaced by more traditional early autumn fare, cool and showery.The river has grown that slimy green weed from its banks, thanks to the heat and sun, and a lift of water is needed to clear that out.
We might get it.
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Kind correspondents have been sending me pictures of the Pink salmon invasion (no less) on many Norwegian rivers. By corralling and trapping, involving ingenious netting techniques and huge trapping constructions, the affected rivers are trying to catch and kill for food every single Pink salmon, so concerned are they about the effect on the native Atlantic salmon, if the Pinks are allowed to migrate upstream and breed.
The Tana, a huge and once great Atlantic salmon river, on the Norwegian/Finnish border, has banned rod fishing for the last 2 or 3 years and is now reported to have over 100,000 Pink salmon. The picture is of one of the traps/cages specifically designed to catch the invaders.
The figures are frightening; in 2021 the Tana caught over 50,000 Pinks in traps, and this year, despite the traps, they think over 100,000 Pinks have escaped through and under the traps, and are now in the river (see this link https://www.luke.fi/en/blogs/pink-is-the-new-black). And the Tana is far from the only affected river.
If you have a spare 20 minutes ( press fast forward if not) why not watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC0rAKGVYWE&ab_channel=YngveNilsen&themeRefresh=1, an extraordinary drone video of netting some of the many thousands of Pinks in Norwegian rivers?
We can only hope that the few Pinks, so far, we have had here do not proliferate anything like to the extent that they have In Norway. As if our Atlantic salmon have not enough problems already.
Even here, we might need a contingency plan if numbers increase further. The advice remains the same, if you catch one please kill it and report to the Tweed Foundation/RTC.
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