Salmon numbers in England and Wales last year were lowest on record

Salmon numbers in England and Wales last year were the lowest on record, figures show, as pollution and climate breakdown are killing off the endangered fish.

A report from the Environment Agency and Cefas shows Atlantic salmon stocks in England and Wales have dropped to their lowest level since records began in 1997.

Once common across the waterways of the UK, the fish are now a rare sight for anglers, who log each fish they catch to build up a national picture of the species' plight. Scientists also set up nets in salmon rivers to chart the prevalence of the fish.

This year's data shows a stark decline. The total declared salmon catch for 2023 was provisionally estimated at 5,399 fish, down from 6,952 in 2022 . Until 2017 at least 20,000 fish were recorded every year.

Rivers that contain significant numbers of salmon have been termed "principal salmon rivers". There are 64 of these, and according to the report only one of them is classified as not at risk, meaning the rest do not have sustainable populations of salmon.

The fish is considered an indicator species as it is sensitive to pollution; its decline indicates that the waters in which it swims are not healthy.

Poor health of rivers is caused by sewage and agricultural pollution, sedimentation, chemical runoff from industries, and runoff from roads. Barriers such as weirs have also been put up on many rivers, stopping salmon from migrating, and rivers have been dug straight and deep, which means the shallow waters in which the salmon spawn have become rarer. Abstraction by water companies also means some salmon rivers over the years have dried up to dangerously low levels.

Stuart Singleton-White, head of campaigns at the Angling Trust, said: "Anglers are leading the fight to protect wild Atlantic salmon. For decades they have been highlighting the alarming decline in the numbers of fish returning to our rivers. Too often that fight has been against a government and agencies who have consistently failed to take the plight of Atlantic salmon seriously. Atlantic salmon need cold clear water, they need free flowing rivers, and they need to be able to complete their lifecycle, both in our rivers and our oceans. Too often they get none of these.

"The government must make the future of wild Atlantic salmon a conservation priority. Salmon will be a key test for this government if it is to meet its legally binding targets to halt the decline and then increase the abundance of biodiversity."