Anglers are being urged not to fish on a certain section on the Rivers Wye and Usk during the current heatwave.
The Wye and Usk Foundation is requesting a pause on fishing on sections of the rivers near Builth Wells and Brecon until the hot weather - that the country has been enjoying over recent days - lowers in order to protect salmon numbers.
A spokesperson for the foundation said: “Whilst these current Indian Summer conditions are loved by holidaymakers, they're not so great for rivers and water temperatures have been climbing fast to dangerous levels this week.
“We are asking that fishing for salmon, trout and pike is paused below Builth Wells on the Wye and below Brecon on the Usk until temperatures fall back below 19 degrees”.
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The foundation is asking for anglers to keep from these spots as the rise in temperatures mean it is less likely that pike and salmon will survive.
They added: “Post-angling survival of salmonids and pike drops markedly around the 19-20 degrees mark and river temperatures are at or above that point in these sections.
“We ask for anglers to stop fishing on those areas affected until it cools down. If you have booked and the water temp is too high, a ‘temp off’ is available. This operates in the same way as our wash-off policy.
"We ask people to stop salmon fishing at 19 degrees and trout fishing at 20 degrees.
“While we do not have data from the wild steams we expect some of these will be approaching these levels too. Please check the temperature before fishing. If it is too high please move to a shadier or more upland beat.”
The foundation spokesperson added that “ther coarse fish can survive at lower oxygen levels, so there is no need to stop fishing for them on fish health grounds.
"Please do take care with hard fighting species like barbel, giving them time to recover in flowing water before release.”
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