Acting upon deep concerns from ghillie members, the Group drafted an amendment seeking an annual appraisal on whether the Strategy was delivering the most needed priorities in relation to the pressures exerted upon the species.
The amendment has been lodged by Edward Mountain MSP and will be debated in the Holyrood chamber at Stage 3 of the Bill.
While many ghillie members are supportive of the Strategy overall, the annual implementation reports, so far, have been viewed as underwhelming, particularly as ghillies have been witnessing declining rod catches and poor Spring runs.
There is also a widely held view that too little is being done to protect falling stocks from things like predation by seals, a marine species, which are now becoming resident almost all year round in rivers such as the Dee.
Local estimates suggest a handful of seals could now account for more salmon each year than are caught and released by all the fisheries on the Dee combined.
As well as impacting the species, this is exerting a toll on ghillie employment and an industry worth £150m a year to the Scottish economy.
“The Wild Salmon Strategy itself is not the issue, the issue is one of prioritising the right actions required to protect endangered salmon and to do that with an urgency that reflects changing pressures on the species,” said a Spokesman for the SGA Fishing Group.
“The last two implementation reports have shown some progress in a few areas and lots of references to the need for more science. However, we need to ensure we are not just studying decline.
“We can research endlessly and create pristine habitat but that will be of little value if we lose wild salmon. Keeping salmon in our rivers is the key priority for those whose livelihoods rely on the species being in a healthy state.”
The SGA is also grateful to Emma Roddick MSP for her work regarding the amendment and her efforts, generally, for wild salmon.
