Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the declining numbers of salmon in national rivers, especially the River Ure.

The assessment of salmon stocks in rivers at a national scale is undertaken by the Environment Agency through a combination of rod catches, automated fish counters and juvenile monitoring programmes.

The focus for salmon stock assessment is focused on the 42 designated principal salmon rivers in England, many of which have significant salmon fisheries still in existence. The River Ure and wider River Ouse catchments are considered to be recovering salmon rivers and consequently assessment of their salmon stock status is primarily based upon angler declared rod catches that provide a useful measure of the improving status of salmon.