July 2019

Adult salmon that have spent a single year at sea (one-sea-winter salmon or ‘grilse’) start to return to rivers to commence their spawning migrations. The photo shows a returning salmon caught on the River Tamar by the Environment Agency and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust who are working together to learn more about salmon and sea trout behaviour. Find out more

Summer is typically the time when catches by nets chiefly occur – netting seasons typically run from June to August inclusive. Salmon are a valuable food source at all life stages and can be predated on at any time. Losses to predators diminish as the fish get larger, but even large adult salmon can be eaten by species such as seals, dolphins and porpoises as they migrate back through coastal waters and estuaries.