Findhorn Nairn and Lossie Rivers Trust, Forres Angling Association and Benromach bless River Findhorn

Around 60 people attended a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the start of the fishing season on the River Findhorn.

Findhorn Nairn and Lossie Rivers Trust (FNLRT) executive director-elect, Elle Adams, was honoured to open the season following her speech and an introduction from Forres Angling Association (FAA) president, Michael Barron.

He said: “The FAA’s members play an important part in the work of the trust so Elle was a natural choice to open the river in her first season as executive director.”

Ms Adams is succeeding FNLRT director Robert Laughton, who retires at the end of March. She was previously the strategy lead for the Findhorn Watershed Initiative, launched in 2022 to restore natural habitats and enable a nature-based economy.

“Anglers are so valuable in maintaining the health of the river,” she said, “including the conservation of wild salmon and sea trout.”

The guest of honour waded into the Findhorn with a quaich handed to her by Benromach distillery manager, Murdo McKenzie, blessed the river and wished the anglers “tight lines for the season”, before pouring the single malt into the water, as is tradition.

Much of the River Findhorn is classified as ‘good’ to ‘very good’ quality. However, over the last centuries, the removal of forests, overgrazing and changing use of land have degraded its ecosystem.

Ms Adams said: “This, along with global warming, presents a serious threat to life in the catchment, in particular to salmon which cannot survive rising temperatures.

“We hope that all members and friends of the river can work together to bring positive change, and that Bob will keep a watchful eye!”

Mr Barron confirmed that last year’s fishing was slightly better than 2023; catch returns showed that 108 salmon were caught compared with 94 in the previous season. Around 95 per cent of the fish were safely returned to the river.

He added: “Reasonable numbers of sea trout and finnock were caught on the river too - the majority of which were safely released.”

However, the number of salmon caught in British rivers has been in serious decline since at 2010.

The Atlantic salmon spends most of its adult life in the North Atlantic before returning to spawn in the river in which it hatched. Pressures in the seas and rivers include pollution, predators, overfishing and warming of the water. Salmon prefer very cold water.

Mr Barron finished: “Organisations such as the FAA, the FNLRT and the Findhorn Watershed Initiative are trying to improve the quality of the environment to allow wildlife to thrive. We are always looking for ways to improve.”

Visit https://www.forresangling.co.uk/, https://www.fnlrt.org.uk/ and https://findhornwatershed.com/ for more information.