Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board fisheries director Dr David Summers told members earlier this year the number caught on the Tay in 2021 was down to somewhere between 4000 and 5000.
Conservation bodies have urged ministers to take action to try and halt a decline of wild salmon in Scotland’s rivers following a recent report the numbers found in the River Tay over last few years were “as low as they have ever been”.
Statistics released by the Scottish Government last week showed the total reported rod catch of wild salmon in Scotland for 2021 was 35,693, the lowest on record and just 75 per cent of the previous five-year average.
The figures came after Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board fisheries director Dr David Summers confirmed to members during the group’s most recent annual public meeting the number caught on the Tay in 2021 was down to somewhere between 4000 and 5000.
He told members in March this year: “In the last few years catches have been as low as they have ever been. COVID had an impact in 2020 and 2021 but notwithstanding there was still a relatively low catch compared to the past.
“We’re down to about 4000 or 5000 which is still quite a lot of salmon relative to other rivers but we’re all aware salmon is not in such a good place.