No salmon fishing on the Test

Salmon fishing on a stretch of one of England’s most celebrated chalk streams has been suspended after the riparian owner declared wild fish numbers to be at “critically low levels”.

The Barker Mill Family Trust halted salmon fishing on its section of the River Test south of the M27 from the start of the season. Sea-trout, trout and coarse fishing remain unaffected.

A Trust spokesperson said the decision reflected “wider pressures on salmon across the UK and internationally” and that continuing commercial salmon fishing was “no longer compatible with responsible river stewardship”.

The Test recorded its fourth lowest salmon returns since 1990 in 2022, reaching fewer than half the conservation limit. In the same year, 80% of principal salmon rivers in England and Wales were classified as at risk.

The Angling Trust welcomed the continuation of other fishing but was clear about where responsibility lies. Anglers have been legally required to release all salmon caught on the Test since 2016, making recreational angling’s impact “negligible”, said chief executive Jamie Cook, who acknowledged riparian owners have limited levers at their disposal.

“Clearly, angling is not the cause of the decline of wild Atlantic salmon,” Mr Cook said. “Pollution, excessive water abstraction, loss of suitable spawning habitat, inadequate protection of our coastlines, pressures at sea from commercial fishing and salmon farms, and changing ocean conditions are the major drivers behind their decline.”