Sporting anglers along the River Teifi are "exasperated and frustrated" that environmental chiefs have failed to introduce a catch-and-release scheme to protect salmon stocks.

That is the view of experienced Cilgerran-based river guide Harry Jackson who feels such measures are urgently required to halt the diminishing numbers of the fish.

“This time last year we thought Natural Resources Wales was about to bring in a catch-and-release scheme,” he told the Cambrian News.

“Yet nothing has happened – all they are doing is kicking the can down the road in an effort to try and keep everyone happy.

“I’m concerned about the impact this will have on the tourist trade which brings an enormous amount of money into the west Wales economy.

“Yet those tourists simply will not come if there are no salmon to catch – and that’s what is going to happen if stocks continue to go down.”

Mr Jackson was reacting to the news that NRW is bringing in emergency byelaws to replace National Salmon Byelaws, in place for 20 years to protect early-running spring salmon, which expired on 31 December.

NRW says the new emergency byelaws will replicate the current level of protection for salmon stocks until a decision is made by Welsh Government following the local inquiry on NRW’s application for the introduction of more protective catch controls.

“It was our intention that the new catch control byelaws would be in place by now to protect salmon and sea trout stocks, however that hasn’t happened and the expiry of the current National Salmon Byelaws would lead to less protection for early-running salmon,” said Peter Gough, NRW’s principal fisheries advisor.

“The levels of protection for both salmon and sea trout in 2019, as things are, would be some way below that which we deem necessary and there can be no certainty when new catch control byelaws may be introduced. This places stocks at further risk.

“To combat this, we are implementing emergency byelaws which will maintain the current level of protection of our salmon stocks and retain some protection for sea trout."

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