Threats to salmon widen

AS people tuck into mountains of smoked salmon — most of which is the farmed variety — over the festive season, the wild Atlantic salmon will continue its long battle for survival.

Some years ago, we were told the likes o drift-netting, pollution, poaching, and inter-breeding with farmed salmon that formed the main threat to the wild species. But other issues have also emerged, such as changes in ocean temperatures due to climate change.

There have been marked changes in plankton production, leading to a huge reduction in salmon numbers. A half-century ago, there would have been around 8m Atlantic salmon at sea, but that figure is now down to 3m, or less, according to Ken Whelan, research director with the Atlantic Salmon Trust and formerly of the Marine Institute.