Save the Chalk Stream Salmon

Help Save the Chalk Stream Salmon

Chalk stream salmon, a subspecies of Atlantic salmon, are only found in rare chalk stream habitats such as the Rivers Test and Itchen. There are only about 200 chalk streams in the world, most of which are in England.

Chalk stream salmon have swum in the Rivers Test & Itchen for thousands of years. However, in recent years, the numbers of chalk stream salmon in our rivers have been decimated. In 2022 only 133 salmon returned to these waters to spawn. This was the lowest numbers of salmon in the Itchen since records began in 1990 – just 20% of the conservation limit (the target for species stock survival.) The same year, the River Test had the 4th lowest numbers since 1990 – just under 50% of the conservation limit.

Save Our Salmon

We’re working with other environmental organisations to bring back the chalk stream salmon to the chalk streams in the Test & Itchen catchment. An alliance of local conservation groups, fisheries experts and environmental organisations are launching a programme of work – the Itchen Salmon Delivery Plan (ISDP) – to save the salmon in our rivers by restoring river habitat, removing the barriers to fish passage and better management of the rivers.

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Simple Things You Can Do to Help

We are part of an alliance of conservation, environmental and fishing organisations working together to save the rare chalk stream salmon of the Rivers Test & Itchen. We will need the help of the local community to do this.

Did you know that most of the water used in South Hampshire is supplied by the Test & Itchen – globally rare chalk stream habitats that support endangered species like the Atlantic Salmon?

There are lots of simple things that you can do to help – whether that’s being more mindful of water consumption at home, switching to more environmentally friendly household cleaning products or writing to your MP about protecting the chalk streams in Hampshire.

Cut Your Water Consumption

There are lots of simple things you can do at home to cut your water consumption. The less water you consume means the less water is taken from the rivers and the less wastewater you send to the sewage treatment works – all good for the rivers. The bonus is that you also save money.

The easiest things to do are:

Showers: Cut your time in the shower – an average shower in the UK uses 13 litres of water a minute. Keep showers down to 4 minutes and you can save hundreds of thousands of litres of water a year. Fitting a water efficient shower head will save even more.

Running Taps: Don’t run the tap when cleaning your teeth or wash dishes under a running tap. A running tap uses 6 litres of water a minute.

Collect rainwater or recycle water for gardens and cleaning cars: Every drop of water that comes out of a household tap has been treated to drinkable standards, with all the energy and chemicals that involves. Harvest rainwater or re-use grey water for the garden or for cleaning the car instead. Will also keep the bills lower.

Reduce Your Use of Chemical Pollutants

Whatever you use in your house eventually ends up in the rivers after passing through the wastewater treatment works. Many of the chemical ingredients in cleaning products are harmful to both human and aquatic life. Choose eco-friendly detergents and household products or use natural substances like vinegar for cleaning windows or lemon juice as a degreaser.

Pet Pollution

The sad truth is that you are most probably unwittingly polluting the rivers though tick, flea or worm treatment that contains pesticides that have been banned in agriculture, but for some bizarre reason are still allowed in veterinary medicine. For example Imidacloprid has been found in our chalkstream and is particularly potent; a single treatment for a dog is devastating to river life insects. Please consider less toxic alternatives such as flea collars. If you have treated your pets with these chemicals please do not let them into the rivers.

Anglers

Consider whether you need to fish for Salmon on the Test or Itchen. If you chose to do so, then do not fish for salmon once the water temperature exceeds 19C at 0900 in the morning or 20C at any time of the day. Please ensure you are conforming to catch and release and best practice about how handle the fish to reduce harm and fish mortality. A leaflet on best practice is here: CR-leaflet-2013

Swimmers

Please help us to preserve the delicate eco-system of the rivers by choosing not to wild swim in the Test & Itchen. Swimmers often stir up the sediment at the bottom of rivers, which can cloud the water and smother fish eggs and aquatic plants, harming the ecosystem.

Disturbing fish in freshwater rivers by swimming can have a significant impact on their health. Fish are highly sensitive to changes in their environment; the presence of swimmers can stress them, affecting their behaviour and physiological states.

Salmon and trout spawn from late autumn into winter, laying their eggs in the gravel river bed. It is crucial not to disturb the areas where their eggs are laid and juveniles live.

Why are salmon so important?

Atlantic Salmon are a keystone species which means that they have a disproportionate impact on the overall ecosystem and are essential to maintain the health and continuity of their habitat. As such, they are an indicator of the overall health of the rivers. The decline in salmon in the Test & Itchen should be seen as a warning about the ecological health of our rivers. We must act now to protect our rivers and bring back the salmon if we want to safeguard the future of salmon fishing in the Test & Itchen.

Improving the Health of the Rivers

The first step is to improve the ecological condition of the rivers. This means:

Water Quality
Reducing sewage and other forms of pollution
Water Quantity
Stopping over-abstraction from the rivers and maintaining flow levels
Habitat Restoration
Restoring the river conditions that salmon need to breed and thrive

What We Are Doing

Lobbying Government & Politicians

We are working with other NGOs to lobby the Government for stronger environmental protection and other reforms that will protect freshwater rivers, particularly chalk streams. We are also pushing for Regulators to more strongly enforce the powers they have.

Putting Pressure on Southern Water

We have coordinated some peaceful public protests to raise awareness of the sewage scandal in our rivers. This has also led to an opening of a new dialogue, alongside others, with Southern Water to get them to make improvements and help them understand the priorities of the riparian owners, keepers and anglers as well as our communities along the river.

We are pressing for the EA and SW to stop over abstraction. We are supporters of the Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project, a scheme to build Havant Thicket Reservoir and to use advanced techniques to recycle waste water that would otherwise be lost to the sea. This is one of the strategic national infrastructure projects Southern Water are due to deliver to reduce the need to abstract from our chalk stream rivers.

Working with the Environment Agency & NGOs

We are working with other NGOs helping to deliver the Itchen Salmon Delivery Plan (ISDP) which the Environment Agency leads on. The measures in the ISDP, equally apply to the River Test.

Monitoring River Health

We have set up a Water Quality Monitoring Network and also help coordinate training and volunteers for river fly monitoring to help identify incidents of pollution. Since 2015 we have been funding a Smart Rivers survey twice a year to provide baseline data on invertebrate life in the rivers.

Habitat Restoration

We are working with riparian owners to identify opportunities to improve the general river habitat. In particular, we are establishing salmon sanctuaries for both juvenile and adult salmon and improving spawning grounds through weed and gravel management, cleaning and appropriate planting of trees to provide shade. Read the Guidance on salmon sancturies.

We are promoting the need to remove barriers to fish passage, such as weirs and locks and other obstructions to fish migration but there is still a lot of progress that needs to be made here.

Improving Angling Practice

We have helped instigate a policy of catch and return, of keeping caught salmon in the water to reduce the post catch mortality and we also now do not fish for salmon once the water temperature exceeds 19C at 0900 in the morning or 20C at any time of the day.

Membership

If you would like to support our work to conserve the Test, Itchen and Meon rivers and protect chalk stream salmon, then please help us by joining our association.