Salmon stocks at risk as sand eels are overfished
Fisheries are concerned about the future of salmon stocks as over-fishing of the sand eels they eat is causing fish to return to rivers smaller and thinner, making it more difficult for them to survive until spawning season.
Grilse salmon, which go out to sea to feed for just one winter before returning to rivers, are coming back to some watercourses earlier than normal, and thinner, the Telgraph reports.
Fisheries believe this could be because their regular food supply, which is typically sand eels, is being overfished at sea to be made into fertiliser.
The warm temperatures of recent weeks have also had an impact on some salmon fisheries which have had to stop fishing entirely.
