The Atlantic Salmon in France Overview

1. The Atlantic Salmon in FranceOverview Bénédicte Valadou (with contributions from A. Richard, M.-A. Arago, M. Chanseau, V. Vauclin and V. Burgun) Hôtel le Nouveau Monde St-Malo le 3 juin 2014 • 31st annual meeting of NASCO

2. Governance of diadromous species SEINE - NORMANDIE RHIN BRETAGNE LOIRE RHÔNE – MED : No salmon Garonne – Dordogne ADOUR

3. Governance of diadromous species • Management plans of diadromous species : monitoring, fisheries, protection and restauration of fishes habitat, restocking • Prepared by local bodies, includind states representants, local authorities, fishermen, NGO, scientists… • Link with the Water Framework Directive

4. overview

5. Brittany 25 salmonrivers : 22 with a river bassin < 1000 m² 9500 adults come back per year 3 323 500 m² of productive area (parr habitats).

6. natural reproduction and stocking success carried out by using electrofishing (2001-2005). natural reproduction and stocking success carried out by using electrofishing (2006-2011). sources : BGM AULNE : critical situation

7. Normandie Sea Trout rivers (1 - 10% salmons) limestone basin • - smallrivers (from 35 to 100 km) • Geological East/West differences : temperature and size of riffles explain this distinction. ancientbasement waterproof salmon rivers 50 km

8. PRINCIPALES RIVIERES NORMANDES BRESLE YERES ARQUES SCIE DURDENT SAANE VALMONT SAIRE ANDELLE DOUVE AURE TAUTE EPTE SEINE TOUQUES VIRE RISLE SEULLES EURE SIENNE ORNE DIVES ITON SEE VARENNE SELUNE AVRE MAYENNE SARTHE HUISNE rivers of Mont St Michel Bay form a satisfactory ring (Sienne, Sée) and metapopulation exchange with Sélune closed by two dams. the Virepopulation remains low (200 to 450 adults), despite a rostored migratory route. reproduction on Andelle 2 limestone rivers, Arques and Bresle remain weak with a few hundred adults 2 populations relocated from 15 years on the Saire and Orne(restokingin 1995), with a few hundred adults in 2013.

9. Loire Cher Arroux: 2 ± 3 (2006-2013) Arroux Maisons Rouges Indre Erased 1998 Creuse Allier: 588 ± 264 (1997-2013) Allier Gartempe Gartempe: 13 ± 16 (2001-2013) Loire Sioule • 1/5 of France (118,000 km2) • R. Loire: 1012 km long • R. Allier: first spawning grounds 800 km from the sea • Once the longest French rivers with (wild) salmon Dore Vienne Lignon Alagnon Poutès Fish-pass 1986 • 1891-1895:~ 50,000 salmon caught each year (net fishermen)…. St Etienne du Vigan Erased 1998

10. Construction and modifications of dams on the lower parts beginning 20th  salmon disappearance Garonne-Dordogne one estuary - one of the biggest in Europe Habitat : potential run of ~ 5 000 fish ~ 160 dams/weirs (50 hydroelectric powerplants) and 42 fish pass built. 3 first dams on Dordogne : 50% fish upstream / Loss ~ 60% on the middle part of Garonne Population increase from 1993 to 2002 (more than 1500 fish in 2000 - 2002) decrease since 2003 (1 SW). 20 to 40% from natural reproduction on Dordogne ; very few on Garonne (genetic assignment) 55 000km² ; mean flow : 600 m3/s 200 ha PS 24 000 km² ; mean flow : 300 m3/s 200 ha PS

11. 4000 adults come back per year ~ 200 dams/weirs (86 hydroelectric) and 100 fishpass  65% of habitats used (G. Pau : 1/3 fishreach good habitats) Adour 2 710 km² ; mean flow : 82 m3/s disappearanceduring first part of XXthcentury (dams)  fishpass construction and stockingsince the 80’s 90 ha PA 980 km² ; mean flow : 31 m3/s 2 500 km² ; mean flow : 102 m3/s no disappearance. Management plan in the 80’s : eggsdepositiontarget – more than 11 M (1998) ; fishpass ; stocking ; fishingregulations… 265 ha PA

12. Rhine • Rhine river bassin : 9 country from Alpes to the Northsea • before 1920 : 250 000 salmonscaught per year. • after 1930 : Bigdicrease • from1958 : totallydissapeear. • 2020 : salmonswill come back in the rhine river

13. Fisheries

14. Fishing is forbidden for a lot of rivers Garonne and Dordogne (because of re-introduction projet) Loire-Allier (since 1994, for risk of extinction) Rhine (because of re-introductionproject) fishingisclosed but someaccidental catches (drift nets) and by-catches occur (nets, rod and line…) becausefishing for otherspeciesisongoing and gears are not selective poaching on Mont Saint Michel Bay 14 date

15. A single professional estuarine fishery Adour 25 – 30 fishermen (~ 50 tenyearsago) Captures last years : 1000 to 1200 mature salmons exploitation rate estimate : ~ 35 – 40% - more for MSW FishingallowedfromMarch to July No fishingduring 25% of time per week Currentdiscussions to reducefishing effort 15 date

16. Management Rod Fishing (TAC)

17. Management Rod Fishing Adour Rods : ~ 1 000 anglers Captures last years : 200 to 300 fish – 90% of MSW Fishingallowedfrom March to July (and 2 weeks in september) - Max. 4 fish / person / year 17 date

18. Habitats restoration

19. Accessibility and potential habitat in Brittany • - Kernansquillec dam removal on le Léguer (1996) • - 51 dams have been removed or restored (made passable) since 2007

20. baie du Mont Saint S é e Michel barrage de la Roche - qui - Boit SELUNE barrage de Vezins Couesnon Accessibility and potential habitat in Normandie Restoration of migratory continuity For 30 years, the linear colonized by salmon increased in Normandy more than 500 km. On the Seine, salmon reached Paris. Restoration of natural flows On migratory rivers of Normandy, the target is to reduce the staggering rate to a maximum of 30%. Sélune restoration 2 hydroelectric dam 51 m high cumulative, which obstructed the river 8 km from the dynamic tide will be removed to the end of 2018 in order to : -restore the movement of migratory fish and - enable the sustainable management of Sélune

21. Accessibility and potential habitat in Loire-Allier

22. Main actions concerningaccessibility of habitats in the next few years to increase the part of natural reproduction Construction (or improvement) of ~ 40 new fishpass (« special discussions » for the 3 first dams on Dordogne) mortalityreduction on downstream migration(actually~ 20% for each basin) : ~ 60 bypass systems for salmon (and eel) Accessibility and potential habitat : Adour, Garonne-Dordogne 22 date

23. Accessibility and potential habitat in Rhine • The main actions include : • opening locks Haringvliet the Netherlands, • restoration of spawning grounds in tributaries partly German and • development of fishways on hydroelectric French side • => a total cost of several hundred million euros. Nouvelle en construction MSI 2016 En service

24. Restocking

25. Stocking on Adour-Garonne-Dordogne For all basins : première origine exogène puis « parents sauvages » au début des années 90 Adour : - Oloron + Nive 4.6 M YOY from 1983 to 2010 (stop in 2010) - Pau 6.0 M YOY from 1983 to 2013 4.8 MYOY from 2004 to 2012 Garonne – Dordogne : ~ 1 M fish par year (more 90% YOY) since ~ 15 years Good survival in rivers : ~ 8% from YOY to smolt on Garonne. But low return rates on Dordogne and Garonne : 0.05 – 0.08% for YOY 0.2 to 1% for smolt. 25 date

26. Stocking on Loire-Allier • One bighatcherysince 2001, dimensioned for smolt • ~ 1 million fedfries/year, 80% in the Allier system • 200,000 smolts/year + same N° of autumalparrs • Verylow (and decreasing) average return rate of stcoked smolts at Vichy: 0.6 ‰. • All stockingmayaccount for 80% of adultreturns in the R. Allier in the last 10 years(Population Viability Model: Dauphin & Prévost, 2013)

27.  Withoutstocking , the population • would have persisted, at a smallerlevel (260 adults) • Stockingdid not restore a self-sustaining population: Allier salmonstill on a slipperyslope • Stockingis not a solution, but no action is not a valid option either •  Mortalities must bereduced (significantly) to restore a self sustaining stock: improving migration transparencyshould help (amongotherthings) (Dauphin & Prévost, 2013)

28. Thank you for your attention