Missing Salmon Alliance extends collaboration in Wales with new Member, Afonydd Cymru

The Missing Salmon Alliance is delighted to welcome a new member to its partnership, Afonydd Cymru, extending its collaboration into Wales.

Afonydd Cymru is the umbrella organisation representing the six regional river trusts in Wales. It also  champions Wales’s thirty-three rivers, its many lakes and smaller watercourses whose environment, fish and fisheries and the wide range of diverse species depend on clean water and unspoilt habitats.

Wild Atlantic salmon populations are in crisis, with the number of wild salmon in the North Atlantic having dropped by around 70% in the last 50 years. In Wales, all 23 ‘Principle Salmon Rivers’ are ‘at risk’, meaning they are at risk of failing to maintain sustainable populations in the future.

However, work is underway to protect and restore salmon stocks in Wales and Afonydd Cymru is vital to driving this forward.

Gail Davies-Walsh, CEO of Afonydd Cymru, said:

“We are excited to join the Missing Salmon Alliance and look forward to extending the work of the partnership into Wales. Like other areas of the UK, Atlantic salmon are an integral part of Welsh culture and landscape. Only by working together does this iconic species have any chance of being able to thrive in our rivers once more.”

Matthew Fleming, Chairman, Missing Salmon Alliance, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Afonydd Cymru to the Missing Salmon Alliance. The MSA exists because no single organisation can solve the wild Atlantic salmon crisis alone. AC brings unique experience and expertise that will complement the skills and knowledge of the existing Members to take forward urgent action and a collaborative response to halt and reverse the decline in wild Atlantic Salmon.”

The Missing Salmon Alliance formed in 2019 when the Atlantic Salmon Trust, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and Angling Trust came together to drive action and save our wild Atlantic salmon from extinction by combining expertise, coordinating activities and advocating effective management solutions. They were joined by Fisheries Management Scotland and The Rivers Trust in 2021.

As the wild Atlantic salmon crisis deepens, with this wondrous species now categorised as endangered by the IUCN, collaboration to secure healthy populations of wild Atlantic salmon at the heart of healthy, biodiverse ecosystems is more important than ever.