Pink salmon - EA Advice

In case you have missed the recent flurry of news re Pacific pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, turning up in unusually high numbers in both rod and net catches around the British Isles, here is the latest advice to download from the Environment Agency.

The take home messages for if you capture a pink salmon:

• If you are confident that you have caught a pink salmon it should be dispatched and retained. Please do NOT return it to the river.
• If you are unsure about the identification, if possible please call the Environment Agency on our hotline number (0800 80 70 60). If possible retain the fish alive in a keep net. Otherwise, you should release it.
• Please report your capture, including details of where you caught it and, if possible, a photograph of the fish, to Jonathan Shelley at the Environment Agency by email: Jonathan.​shelley@​environment-​agency.​gov.​uk or by post: Brampton Fisheries Laboratory, Brampton, Peterborough, Bromholme Lane, PE28 4NE.
• If possible, please make the whole fish available to us for inspection and further analysis. Otherwise, a sample of the scales would be very helpful.