Red Skin Disease Update
Updated: Mar 7, 2023
A new report on Report on Red Skin Disease from the Environment Agency’s National Fisheries Laboratory and NRW provides the latest guidance.
In recent years there have been reports of small numbers of wild salmon caught in Scandinavia, Ireland and parts of the UK with signs of ventral haemorrhaging. We are monitoring the situation on all our major salmon rivers and working with partners to better understand the cause. Please report any similar sightings, or fish in distress to the Environment Agency.
EA Gudiance:
We are asking anyone who encounters fish that are diseased or in distress to contact our incident hotline immediately. This will allow us to respond promptly to any serious or emerging disease incidents. We also ask for anglers to be vigilant but not to remove or handle any fish in distress. Photographing fish with signs of abnormality can be extremely useful if the situation allows and it is safe to do so. However, any fish caught by rod and line showing signs of disease should be returned to the water as quickly as possible.
We encourage anglers to practice good biosecurity and disinfect their waders, boots, nets and wet equipment after fishing and before moving to other waters. This can be done by thorough drying in sunlight or with the use of appropriate disinfectants.
To report dead or dying fish, please contact the Environment Agency’s hotline immediately: 0800 80 70 60. For further information please contact the Environment Agency’s National Fisheries Laboratory Tel: 02084 745244 or 07825 111723, E-mail: