Title: Atlantic salmon in Spain
Author: Carlos Garcia de Leniz
Author: Tony Hawkins
Author: David Hay
Author: Juan Jose Martinez
Document Type: Monograph
Annotation: 1st edition published in 1987
Abstract:
This report aims to analyse the Atlantic Salmon situation in Spain. Most people have an image of Spain of sun and sand, blue seas, hotels and holiday makers. But there is another Spain. One where high mountains look down on the coast, where the winters are cold and wet, and salmon are to be found in clear rivers running down to the sea. The northern provinces of the Iberian peninsula run from east to west from the western border of France to the northern border of Portugal, and face northward across the Bay of Biscay. These provinces are quite different from the rest of Spain and are separated from it by the high Cantabrian Cordillera. The land rises steeply from the sea in a series of hills to mountains which remain snow-capped into early summer and where ample rain falls. Much of the land is over 500 m high, the spectacularly rugged Picos de Europa rising to over 2,500 m. The hills are covered with thick forests of pine, evergreen oak, chestnut, hazel, plane and beech, while on the lower slopes large areas have been planted with the Australian eucalyptus. Grouse, capercaillie, wild boar, deer, wild goats and even the predatory brown bear and wolf are still to be found, and are now given a measure of protection within designated game reserves. Running from east to west, the northern provinces are those of Navarra, Guipuzcoa, Vizcaya, Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia. The larger towns, Bilbao, Santander, Gijon and La Coruna are busy coastal seaports, while inland within a series of intersecting glaciated valleys lie many small market towns with industries based on agriculture. The rivers flow northwards from the Cordillera to the sea where they often form long estuaries or "rias" with small but fertile flood plains. Most of these rivers have many contributing tributaries which are steep, and quick to rise and fall. In winter and spring they are fed by snow melt while in summer many of them are fed by underground springs. The waters are generally rich in minerals, and aquatic life is abundant. The larger tributaries offer good spawning grounds for salmonid fish. They are cool, during winter, carry little sediment, and are fast flowing. Trout, eels and large minnows abound.
Publisher: Atlantic Salmon Trust
Publication Date: 1993
Publication Place: Pitlochry
Subject Keywords: Salmon fisheries; Fish migration; Population distribution; River fisheries; Catches; Fishery statistics; Fishing rights; Angling; Illegal practices; Life cycle; Weirs
Geographic Keywords: Europe
Taxonomic Keywords: Salmo salar; Salmonidae
Extent: 32
Permalink: http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ast:139
Total file downloads: 204
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