BLACK Rock lave net fishery, which uses ancient techniques to catch salmon on the Severn, is facing an uncertain future as its 10-year licence is up for renewal.

Spokesperson for the fishery, Martin Morgan said: “The fishery is thriving. We have new, young members, tourism commitments into 2019 and we’ve just held a very successful public event which saw hundreds of people come to learn about what we do.

“The 10-year agreement, originally formed with the Environment Agency (EA) and Welsh Government (WG) in 2008, allows us to catch 15 salmon across the three-month season. We’re asking to renew it exactly as it stands. We’ve been told verbally that will happen, but Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which now manage the licences, is carrying out a consultation into salmon catches and we’re concerned that this will delay renewal of our licence. We’ve also asked for clarification from them that we are exempt, as a small heritage fishery, from this process; we’re in limbo.

“The nature of our fishery is naturally very restricted. We can only fish for two hours a day because of the tides and the weather has to be good enough to fish. We lost a month due to poor weather this August.

“We catch five salmon a month between us and when we reach this limit we stop. The consultation reads as though NRW are proposing a catch and release scheme, which will kill our fishery. We’ve seen fish stocks increase over the last 10 years and we’ve been told by WG and EA that we are sustainable.”

Bylaws put in place in 1999 and renewed in 2009 restricted the fishery to a three-month season in order to protect spring salmon stocks. Traditionally, lave net fisheries on the Severn operated from February each year.

Martin added: “We’re not being greedy, we’re just asking to continue as we are. We’re the last traditional fishery on this part of the Severn. All the ranks of salmon putchers have disappeared and fisheries further up the river are on their knees.

“We’ve had tremendous support throughout Monmouthshire and from WG. We’ve exhibited at the Royal Welsh Show, the Eisteddfod, St Fagans National Museum of History and the National Museum of Wales. We’re preserving hundreds of years of heritage and a way of life.”

Peter Gough, Principal Fisheries Advisor for NRW, said: “The new catch and release measures we are proposing are a response to the evidence we have on the status of our salmon and sea trout stocks. 

“All salmon stocks in Wales, with the exception of the Wye, and some sea trout stocks, are performing  poorly. Our proposed measures will affect angling and net fishing for these species across Wales. However, no changes are currently proposed for the Black Rock lave net fishery.

“We believe that salmon caught at Black Rock come from the River Wye stock which has seen an improvement thanks to excellent partnership work with The Wye and Usk Foundation over the past 20 years.

“Because of these improvements, including past catch controls, the River Wye salmon stock is currently considered ‘not at risk’. This would mean that our suggested catch and release proposals would not be triggered. However, similar measures introduced on the Wye in 2012 will continue as stock recovery continues.”

To participate in the consultation, visit https:/naturalresources.wales/catch

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