With thanks to Karl Savege for sending us this latest info regarding the ruling of the Haaf Netter’s appeal:

Despite an appeal which was unsuccessful the River Nith has been classified as a grade 3 for all salmon fishing including haaf netting for the 2020 season. This means 100% catch and release for all salmon. Sea trout can still be fished and retained.

and a response from Tom Hogg of Salmon & Wild Fisheries:

“As you know the conservation of salmon regulations were introduced in 2016 to protect the number Scottish wild salmon returning to Scottish waters. Numbers have declined over the last 50 years and in recent decades the sizes of fish have also declined.

We believe that the model used to undertake the annual assessment of the status of salmon is the best available approach and it is based on data from the statutory catch returns which are submitted annually, furthermore from this season we will be recording rod effort.

As you will be aware a river that is assessed as grade 3 indicates that the likelihood of it meeting its conservation level is unlikely, therefore it is not permitted to retain salmon that have been caught. While I understand your concerns regarding HAAF netting we have previously explained the reasons why it is not permitted.

I note your specific points around setting a number of fish which may be retained and killed by haaf netsmen, justified on the basis that around 10% of salmon released from rod & line may subsequently die. Scottish Ministers do not favour this approach on several grounds.

Although our current assessment model assumes 10% mortality of rod caught & released salmon, the associated research has uncertainties and we have commissioned a three year study to research three underlying questions: 1) What is a reasonable general estimate of salmon catch-and-release mortality and does this vary with environmental conditions or fish phenotype; 2) How can mortality be reduced; and 3) Are there additional, sub-lethal effects of catch and release that are detrimental for fish reproductive success or offspring viability?

Our aim remains to reduce rod caught & release mortality to a minimum and Marine Scotland has published a Topic Sheet providing a guide to best practice on catch and release. This can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00507575.pdf. It would therefore be inappropriate to allocate a haaf netting ‘kill allowance’ based on a rod caught mortality which is uncertain and which we are working to minimise.

Finally, I should point out that it remains open to haaf netters to practise fishing subject to the release of any salmon caught, and to retain seas trout caught in this way.”