'Save our salmon' plea

Stocks have declined rapidly

Scottish landowners are calling for urgent action to help reverse a collapse of stocks in salmon and trout rivers.

Numbers have fallen from a high of 600,000 fish caught annually 20 years ago to fewer than 100,000, according to the Scottish Landowners' Federation.

The federation is proposing new statutory powers for Scotland's district salmon fishery boards.

Chairman of its river resources committee, Hugh Campbell Adamson, said wild fish stocks needed to be sustainable "in the interests of biodiversity and the economy in many rural parts of Scotland".

Among the measures he said were needed:

• Catch and release

• Bait restrictions

• Possible extensions to closing times

Mr Campbell Adamson added: "These powers must be held locally by those who know the local problems.

"The evident decline in stocks is enough to trigger urgent and appropriate action essential at local level to reflect varying circumstances.

"This will be the absolute minimum for confronting a quite catastrophic situation."

The federation says moves by the Scottish Executive to protect and promote freshwater fish will be part of an increasingly important role played by district boards and owners "to conserve Scotland's natural heritage".