Spain moves to ban salmon fishing as species faces extinction

A scientific committee has ruled in favor of classifying the Atlantic salmon as an endangered species in Spain. The decision could lead to a nationwide ban on salmon fishing. The committee advises the Committee on Fauna and Flora, a body that brings together Spain's central government and regional authorities on wildlife conservation. It found that the salmon (Salmo salar) meets the criteria for "endangered" status. In Spain, salmon are found only in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country and Navarra. Listing the species in the Spanish Catalogue of Threatened Species would ban fishing and require measures to protect the fish and its habitat. The government requested the report in April after the conservation group Saxifraga formally asked the Ministry for Ecological Transition to list the species as "endangered" across Spain. **Sharp decline** Saxifraga argued the salmon meets at least two conditions set out in the royal decree that governs the Spanish Catalogue of Threatened Species. Both show the species is in poor condition. First, the salmon has disappeared from 50% of the rivers where it once lived over the past 30 years. Second, its populations in Spain have fallen by 70% over three generations. The Scientific Committee confirmed the scientific validity of the proposal and agreed that both criteria are met, according to sources at the Ministry for Ecological Transition. **Next steps** The next step is to inform the regional governments through the Committee on Fauna and Flora, where the proposal will be debated. The scientific report comes after the worst salmon fishing season on record. Asturias recorded 108 catches, down from 6,893 in 1969. Cantabria recorded just three. These two regions are Spain's main salmon fishing areas and the only ones that allowed catches this year.