All of this work is excellent, a credit to the dedication and right-mindedness of salmon fishers. When the fish have returned to fresh water, anglers have a very important role to play in conserving stocks of fish. You might think that the most obvious form of this would be to close down our salmon rivers for a period, while maintaining vigilant protection of the fishings and carrying on our support for research. In practice, this radical form of restraint cannot easily be used. The whole structure of fishing depends on rivers being fished by sporting anglers.
Many rural areas depend on salmon fishing and salmon fishers for their income.
Without fishers the income of many estates would collapse, the income of river boards would diminish or disappear and all the local economic benefits which centre on salmon fishing would shrivel. These revenues are an essential part of our rural economies. We could go on and show that vital elements of rural income and employment would disappear. In fact, closure of our fisheries and fishery management structures and funding would not save the salmon. Indeed, it would in all likelihood be counter-productive and contribute to the disappearance of the salmon completely.