Visitors from one of Norway’s top salmon rivers have been exploring the north east England and the Scottish borders to learn why the area has the best salmon rivers in the UK.
The visitors are 20 fishery owners from the Namsen river, one of the top three salmon rivers in Norway. They were keen to discover how the Tweed maintains its position as the best UK salmon river, and why the Tyne has improved so dramatically in the last thirty years to the point where it’s the best salmon river in England by a considerable margin.
Their whistle-stop tour included a visit to the famous Kielder Hatchery where salmon are reared for rivers such as the Tyne, and where they saw the Tyne Salmon Trail, an iconic and interactive project which celebrates the Tyne as England’s premier salmon river.
They also visited the Environment Agency’s fish monitoring station at Riding Mill in Hexham to see how the numbers of migratory salmon and sea trout are recorded, including video footage of the fish underwater and fish traps.
They had a look at a number of top fishing beats on the Tyne and the Tweed, talked to anglers and visited Durham to see the Environment Agency’s fish pass on the River Wear.
Jon Shelley of the Environment Agency said: “Our visitors come from the Namsen river valley, which is a beautiful area and has great salmon fishing, so we were delighted they wanted to learn from our north east rivers. ”
“We’re also very pleased to be working with our European counterparts whilst promoting the great relationships we have with our fisheries partners across the north east.
The trip was organised in collaboration with the Norwegian Tourist and Economic Development authorities, who recognise that lessons can be learnt from conservation measures and fishery management techniques practised here in the UK. It was hosted by Harald Oyen of Fish Norway and north eastern fishing writer Dr Colin Bradshaw.
