Attended an open-air play on the banks of the River Teign last Sunday, entitled "Salmon" and performed by Med Theatre as part of the
River Teign Restoration Project. The idea was to raise awareness of the plight of the salmon, sea trout and other species in this and other rivers, caused by all the various forms of pollution, water extraction, climate warming and so forth.
As a fully-paid -up Teign angler, I was probably not their target audience - but it was very thought-provoking. The river used to have very significant runs of both migratory species, but is now a shadow of its former self, gradually dwindling year-on-year. For the first time I am considering giving up my angling membership next year - which I had to wait nearly ten years to attain ("dead-mens-boots" and all that). Not just because the fishing potential has become so much worse, but also because hoiking these beautiful creatures out of the water, just to put them back again, does not any longer seem either sporting or fair somehow.
