The UK’s River Test is where modern fly fishing was invented, now it has a salmon problem.
Salmon fishing has been suspended on part of the River Test at Broadlands, the Hampshire estate closely associated with the Royal family, after what the estate described as a season without a single salmon catch, according to reporting by the Daily Mail.
The paper said Broadlands, a 4,500-acre estate with a
The report cited anglers blaming reduced flows on
The River Test is one of a small number of globally rare chalk streams and has become a focal point in wider debates about water availability, drought planning and river ecology. In 2024, the Environment Agency said salmon stocks in England were at critically low levels, with 90% of principal salmon rivers classed as “at risk” or “probably at risk”.
It’s a world wide trend – for various reasoins – for freshwater fisheries to be in decline. Largely the fault lies with shortsighted politicians obsessed with growth for growth’s sake and no respect for the environment.
This story about the River Test highlights a pattern many anglers around the world are seeing: salmon runs collapsing even in rivers once considered healthy and iconic. The article notes salmon are now classed as endangered on the Test, partly linked to reduced flows from abstraction and groundwater pressures — a reminder that freshwater quantity and quality are inseparable from fish recovery.
Wild salmon, whether in the UK, New Zealand, or North America, depend on sufficient flows, clean gravels, and unobstructed migration. Seeing a river once central to fly fishing effectively become “empty” underscores that we cannot take these ecosystems for granted — whether in the chalk streams of Hampshire or our own Canterbury lowland rivers.
The River Test example illustrates how cumulative water management decisions can ultimately push salmon populations to the brink. Chalk streams are globally rare, and their flows are especially sensitive to groundwater extraction. Anglers on the Test are now seeing seasons with no salmon at all.
This resonates with concerns here in Aotearoa: when river flows decline, nutrients concentrate, and habitat conditions worsen, fish life cycles are disrupted. Whether it’s Atlantic salmon in England or trout and salmon in New Zealand, the message is clear — healthy fisheries require healthy flows and catchment protection. Effective water allocation and ecological flow limits aren’t just technical issues; they are central to whether rivers sustain fish and fishing.
I remember the Test from my early years in the UK. A truly fabulous spot. As kids we would sneak down there at night to sample the fishing minus the stiff daily licence costs. I never landed a salmon but trout would rise easily on a dry fly – maybe even better than during daylight.
So here is a river synonymous with the birth of modern fly fishing — is sobering for anglers everywhere. A season without a single salmon catch on part of the Test, attributed in part to reduced flows from abstraction, is a stark example of how freshwater ecosystems can fail when pressures accumulate.
At a time when salmon stocks globally are “at risk” or “probably at risk,” what’s happening abroad should prompt reflection here. If iconic rivers can become empty of fish, it challenges all of us who care about freshwater fisheries to ask: are we doing enough to protect flow, habitat, and connectivity in our own rivers?