2nd February: Calls to protect salmon stocks as fishing season gets underway

Anglers are calling on the Government to do more to protect salmon stock saying numbers near crisis point after decades of decline.

It comes as salmon fishing season got underway in the River Dee yesterday morning.

Olympic champion Katherine Grainger, who began her career in the River Dee, was invited to bless the waters with whisky before they were officially declared open.

Fly angler Matt Harris said he hoped today’s ceremony would inspire a new generation of anglers who would work to protect the river’s inhabitants.

“I just think it’s really great because it gets them to start caring about the environment more. They’re in the environment, they’re seeing both the good and the bad and they’re more invested in keeping it,” Mr Harris said.