THE North East has landed the title of salmon capital of the country with the latest figures showing a surge in the numbers of fish in the region’s two largest rivers.
For several years, the Tyne has been the best river in England and Wales for rod catches of salmon. But last year the Wear nudged behind its neighbour as second-best waterway.
Last year saw the best-ever salmon rod catches in the area – 5,115 in the River Tyne and 1,531 in the River Wear.
And now record numbers of salmon have been counted after a new study in the River Tyne, thanks to an improvement in water quality.
Environment Agency officers say a record 1,866 salmon were counted in the river between February and May this year, up from 581 in the same period last year.
The agency has a fish counting station at Riding Mill on the River Tyne, which last year logged 45,602 adult salmon and sea trout.
It is estimated that each salmon is worth around £1,000 to the economy in angler spending on items such as travel, accommodation, meals and licences.
The River Coquet in Northumberland had an equally impressive salmon catch in 2010 with 978 caught, the third best on record.
Sea trout catches also showed an increase, with the River Wear and River Coquet catches substantially increasing in 2010, but again the River Tyne led the way with another record catch of 2,687.
