I
Ian Cloke
Guest
FOOTBALL LEGEND Jack Charlton yesterday warned that a tiny parasite could devastate his favourite pastime?salmon angling?if it was brought in from Europe to Scottish waters.
The former England player and Irish coach was calling on all anglers to support the Home and Dry campaign launched on the Ballathie beat of the Tay by the Scottish Executive yesterday.
The campaign calls on anglers to ?hang the bug out to dry? to underline the need for all water sport enthusiasts to dry their equipment thoroughly to prevent the parasite, garodactylus salaris, being introduced into our waterways.
The tiny parasite?it measures only half a millimetre ?has already devastated more than 27 Norwegian salmon rivers since it spread to their Atlantic streams from the Baltic.
It is understood the parasite arrived on salmon being moved to Norwegian fish farms from Baltic rivers.
In some cases entire rivers have been deliberately poisoned to get rid of the parasite, wiping out all the indigenous fish, only to have the parasite reappear with devastating results when the rivers are restocked.
The fear is that if the parasite is accidentally introduced to Scottish waters by anglers, canoeists, kayakers, wind-surfers or sub-aqua enthusiasts it could cost the Scottish economy more than ?60 million and wipe out well over 2000 jobs associated with the salmon industry.
Although contingency plans have been prepared, the difficulty of stopping it spreading was underlined by Mr David Dunkley, head of salmon at the Fisheries Research Service.
?The tiny parasite can kill salmon parr and smolts,? he said, ?and can be spread upstream by adult salmon to uninfected waters.?
With the parasite already confirmed in rivers in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, and its status unknown in Iceland and the Benelux countries, Britain and Ireland are doing all they can to prevent it arriving on our shores.
As the parasite can survive on wet fishing lines, waders, the inside of a canoe, or a damp wet suit, water sport enthusiasts and anglers are being called on to dry their equipment for at least two days at 20C if they have been abroad before using it in British waters and to exercise the same precautions if going from one watershed to enjoy their sport in another part of the country.
Other methods of ensuring equipment is not contaminated is to heat it for at least an hour to above 60C; deep freeze it for at least a day; or immerse it in a suitable solution, including chemicals such as Virkon, Wescodyne, sodium chloride (3%) or sodium hydroxide (0.2%).
Mr Sid Patten, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, said his industry already had a code of practice to deal with the parasite.
And last week the Scottish Executive passed new legislation banning the introduction of live fish from the affected countries.
Brian Davidson, assistant director of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, said many boards were urging riparian owners to ask for certificates of disinfection covering equipment from anglers who had fished in any of the affected countries.
The former England player and Irish coach was calling on all anglers to support the Home and Dry campaign launched on the Ballathie beat of the Tay by the Scottish Executive yesterday.
The campaign calls on anglers to ?hang the bug out to dry? to underline the need for all water sport enthusiasts to dry their equipment thoroughly to prevent the parasite, garodactylus salaris, being introduced into our waterways.
The tiny parasite?it measures only half a millimetre ?has already devastated more than 27 Norwegian salmon rivers since it spread to their Atlantic streams from the Baltic.
It is understood the parasite arrived on salmon being moved to Norwegian fish farms from Baltic rivers.
In some cases entire rivers have been deliberately poisoned to get rid of the parasite, wiping out all the indigenous fish, only to have the parasite reappear with devastating results when the rivers are restocked.
The fear is that if the parasite is accidentally introduced to Scottish waters by anglers, canoeists, kayakers, wind-surfers or sub-aqua enthusiasts it could cost the Scottish economy more than ?60 million and wipe out well over 2000 jobs associated with the salmon industry.
Although contingency plans have been prepared, the difficulty of stopping it spreading was underlined by Mr David Dunkley, head of salmon at the Fisheries Research Service.
?The tiny parasite can kill salmon parr and smolts,? he said, ?and can be spread upstream by adult salmon to uninfected waters.?
With the parasite already confirmed in rivers in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, and its status unknown in Iceland and the Benelux countries, Britain and Ireland are doing all they can to prevent it arriving on our shores.
As the parasite can survive on wet fishing lines, waders, the inside of a canoe, or a damp wet suit, water sport enthusiasts and anglers are being called on to dry their equipment for at least two days at 20C if they have been abroad before using it in British waters and to exercise the same precautions if going from one watershed to enjoy their sport in another part of the country.
Other methods of ensuring equipment is not contaminated is to heat it for at least an hour to above 60C; deep freeze it for at least a day; or immerse it in a suitable solution, including chemicals such as Virkon, Wescodyne, sodium chloride (3%) or sodium hydroxide (0.2%).
Mr Sid Patten, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, said his industry already had a code of practice to deal with the parasite.
And last week the Scottish Executive passed new legislation banning the introduction of live fish from the affected countries.
Brian Davidson, assistant director of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, said many boards were urging riparian owners to ask for certificates of disinfection covering equipment from anglers who had fished in any of the affected countries.