Anglers have voiced outrage at the prospect of commercial salmon netting returning to a north-east river.
The Aberdeen and District Angling Association (ADAA) has spoken out in reaction to an announcement by Usan Salmon Fisheries that it has acquired the salmon netting rights in and just outside the River Ythan estuary.
The Montrose-based salmon netting company recently pledged to “return the Ythan to its former glory, in a bid to ensure that it remains one of the top sea trout rivers in Scotland for future generations”.
But ADAA president Bob Dey said it was “deplorable, in this day and age” that a netting company could come in and acquire rights that have not been exercised since 1997.
He added: “Our concern is that the Ythan’s fragile stocks of salmon and sea trout, which our members have cherished and protected for decades, will be decimated by indiscriminate killing.
“It is galling that all our efforts are now jeopardised by the arrival of a major salmon netting company, which has never paid a penny towards conservation on the Ythan.”Mr Dey said his real argument lay with the Scottish Government who, he claimed, had “woefully failed” to legislate to stop coastal netting of Atlantic salmon and sea trout.
Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of the Salmon and Trout Association (Scotland), said reopening a dormant netting station made a mockery of efforts to protect depleted migratory fish stocks, unless conservation organisations were given first dibs.
He has now written to the government highlighting that re-opening netting in the Ythan district could also risk salmon stocks in other Special Area of Conservation rivers, such as the Dee.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said ministers would be concerned to learn of any activity that would threaten sustainability of salmon and sea trout stocks and the wider ecosystem of the Ythan.
She added: “We would encourage the Ythan Fishery Board to monitor the impact of any new fisheries on stocks and to explore conservation measures.”
Mark Andrew, of the Ythan District Salmon Fishery Board, confirmed it would closely monitor the situation.
Usan Salmon Fisheries last night declined to comment.