ROUND AND ROUND IN CIRCLES
A borrowed quote, 'Never doubt the environmental knowledge of a consistently successful fisherman. Always doubt the motives of a consistently argumentative environmental bureaucrat'
I read with interest Ken Reid's post on the 'Salmon Fishing Club' on his recent attendance at a Dee Board and Trust meeting, Universities, Drs, Geneticist, Professors, Atlantic Salmon Trust, etc and was amused by it, which generated this weeks 'Petition Heading', yes Round and Round in circles. What is disturbing about this whole scenario for Nature Scotland and the rest of the UK and their Powers in being is that for want of a better term. 'They Pee in the same Pot' or 'Sing off the same Hymn sheet'. Universities, Drs, Scientists, Geneticist and Professors, on massive remunerations soaking up monies that were once ring fenced for 'Fisheries purposes' and used to protect and enhance them. Universities are producing more academics and their counterparts from within the so called organisations including N.R.W, are creating and developing positions for them, effectively, they strangled the 'Ring fenced funding' that once employed hundreds in the care of our rivers and fisheries. These very rivers for a very long period pre 1981 produced phenomenal returns of wild salmonids. Meeting after meeting and no action. Can you name one 'Scientist' who created a situation whereby the rivers across the UK provided more salmonids in any year in the past 20 years?, more so recently since the closure of the hatcheries throughout.
Whilst there are other issues this 'Petition' is about the 'Avian Predation' by Cormorants and Goosanders, on the very young Salmonids and other fishes in our nursery ditches and streams at the headwaters, and in our rivers. What is very disturbing is that in or about the year 2000 a 'Petition' in England about this avian predation created 35,000 or so signatories and in the following years two more petitions one in Northern Ireland and one in England between them, not far off 60,000 signatories, which are still active, and running up to June 2023 when this 'Petition' was launched which is nearing 5000 votes. To date, they are being ignored.
In Wales N.R.W. created an ineffective licensing scheme and I believe the same applied to England and Scotland and Northern Ireland and notes from past meetings in Wales appear to point out that there is an 'Avian Predation' problem which has been known about and discussed for a number of years, but without positive action. This culminated in the June 2022 meeting in Wales and when one evaluates this meeting, the details of which effectively points to RSPB and Wales Ornithological Society, top heavy attendance. The Chair of the meeting and also Afonydd Cymru representation, showing ties with the RSPB and also N.R.W, the conflict of interest shows that the tail is wagging the dog. Is it any wonder that the can was yet again kicked down the road until 2025. Is it also any wonder that recently the Salmon has been put on the endangered list?, they listen but do not hear.
Presently the 'Welsh Rivers Trusts' aspect are also showing some anomalies here in Wales in various guises, which are under investigation, more on that as it develops.
If you have not written to the various organisations, MP's AM's, Nature Scotland, Nature England, N.R.W. as an individual pointing out our campaign and calling for action instead of meetings, then please take the time to do so. Our forefathers and grandfathers fought two world wars to ensure that there existed a democracy, what happened to it?.
A copy of Ken Reid's letter sent today is on the 'Salmon Fishing Club' forum, good on you Ken.
Keep voting please and keep moving the matter forward.
Gwilym Hughes