There are great initiatives like Keep Fish Wet, Return ‘Em Right and Check Clean Dry that are providing anglers with guidance on these key areas.

Watch this space too for guidance by the Angling Trust coming soon for marine species.

Thank you to the Missing Salmon Alliance and The Fishmongers'​ Company for organising and hosting this crucial event.

While we aren’t doing much in this space now to protect wild salmon at sea, the policy levers & management mechanisms already exist for us to safeguard wild salmon along our coastline in the UK. If we have the political will & ambition to do so.

I hope the Minister took this away as a key message.

Thank you to everyone who made this event an inspiring and thought-provoking few days. I am often immersed in the world of sharks and other marine species like pollack and cod as opposed to salmon, but the common themes of decline are sadly universal no matter the event you attend.

🐟 Ban gillnet fisheries within the UK’s Marine Protected Area Network as a minimum

🐟 Invest in data collection on wild salmon at sea, including bycatch risk and tracking

To give wild salmon the best chance at sea, here’s some steps we should be taking:

🐟 Recognise salmon (and other diadromous fish) as marine species in fisheries management

🐟 Embed measures to monitor and reduce salmonid bycatch throughout UK Fisheries Management Plans (where relevant)

I spoke in a session focused on bycatch risk and mitigation alongside colleagues from Blue Marine Foundation and The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust At the Angling Trust, we are passionate about reducing and, where possible ending, bycatch so it was brilliant to take part in this.

It’s the greatest honour of my life to work with so many incredible people in the marine and coastal sector. I’m so thankful for my mentors, colleagues, and ultimately, friends, who make working in this field feel like I’ve won the lottery every day.

Let’s keep pushing for sustainable seas for all

I can’t help but feel that we need a dedicated conference on UK Fisheries to dive into these conversations more. @coastalfutures.bsky.social one to think about?

Recreational fishers are increasingly being intregrated in fisheries management and stock assessments with the sector focusing on its role in conservation too. If you’re interested I can talk to you for days about this!

Recreational fishing generates more than economic benefits. There are people around our coastline in socio-economically deprived communities who rely on recreational fishing to put food on their families tables, yet there’s never a conversation around its contribution to national food security.

Recreational sea fishing is recognised as being part of the UK fishing industry under UK law, yet there is often no recognition of the 12,000 people or 400 charter boats working in the sector. It involves almost a million anglers who generate roughly £1.5 billion for the UK economy.

I also thought about who wasn’t in the room, and who wasn’t on stage.

If we’re truly going to make conversations about all aspects of our coastal and marine environment inclusive, then everyone involved needs a seat at the table.

Personally, I feel we need more of these discussions.

Fishermen on the ground like who are calling on governments so passionately to do things differently, to reach environmental targets whilst securing the social and economic future of fishermen deserve to be heard more regularly.

If you’re attending in-person stop by the University of Plymouth stand to learn more about two exciting Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships - Angling for Sustainability and Pollack FISP 😁🎣