CHARLIE WHELAN: Salmon ‘damned’ if we do not get rid of obstacles in Spey
It was a great pleasure to bring my old friend Feargal Sharkey to Strathspey last week and to see for himself the threats to the mighty River Spey and in particular its wild salmon.
Feargal was once better known as a singer in the punk rock band the Undertones but he is probably even more famous today for his campaign to save British rivers and as a keen angler.
As he pointed out it’s not just in England that we have let the polluters kill our rivers and seas.
Only this week the Marine Conservation Society reported that raw sewage was known to be flushed into Scottish rivers and seas for 113,000 hours last year and that includes the Spey.
Is it any wonder then that last year it was also reported the lowest number of Atlantic Salmon were caught by anglers on Scottish rivers since records began. As we sat down for breakfast in the Boat Hotel in Boat of Garten to talk about fly fishing a couple from America heard us speaking about salmon and shared their story of their visit to Scotland.
They said that the river looked fantastic, that the ghillies were marvellous but they hadn’t seen a salmon.
Needless to say they said they weren’t coming back. This should worry all of us.
The Americans weren’t the only folk Feargal met. Almost every guest came up to him and thanked him for the efforts he was making to save our rivers and seas.
I’ve been in the company of many politicians but I’ve never been with anyone as popular with the public as Feargal.
When this former pop star came to address the folk supporting the work of the Spey Catchment Initiative it’s fair to say everyone was listening, my only hope is that his words will be taken seriously.
As he said if we can’t save the world renowned River Spey what hope is their for all the other Scottish salmon rivers.
There were clearly a few in the audience who didn’t hear what he said or didn’t want to hear.
Those who run the estate owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta and owner of the Spey Dam that is responsible for 66 per cent of the abstraction of the Spey and prevents salmon spawning above it don’t want to hear that any blockage to a river that contains migratory fish can have devastating effects.
As Feargal told his audience in Boat of Garten his local river had a couple of small dams and eventually they found that the only solution was to get rid of them.
This is not just about fish, it’s also the effect such a dam can have on all other wildlife too.
The Scottish Government have done what many call a ‘dodgy deal’ with Mr Gupta to buy energy from his Lochaber hydro plants guaranteeing him between £14 million and £32 million a year for 25 years so he has no incentive to get rid of the dam. That’s despite the fact that it produces little energy and it’s estimated that just two wind turbines would be enough to generate the aluminium smelter in Fort William.
The question is though do we want to save the wild salmon that Feargal Sharkey and David Attenborough say has just 20 years to survive as things stand or do we take radical steps to save the species?
That may mean a few sacrifices from multi-millionaires like Gupta and at least a recognition by those who represent him that his dam needs to go.
• Charlie Whelan (Labour) is a former spokesman for Gordon Brown.
