ANGLERS are being urged to report unusual catches after a non-native pink salmon was caught in the river Tyne at Wylam.

Around 100 pink salmon are believed to have been caught in waters off the North-East and Yorkshire coast in recent months.

Millions of pink salmon were stocked in the White Sea region of northern Russia from the 1950s until 2003 to develop a net fishery.

As a result, some have established populations in rivers in Russia, Finland and northern Norway, and the Environment Agency believes this is the most likely origin of the pink salmon recently caught in the UK.

Jonathan Shelley, from the Environment Agency, said: “It is quite unusual to find pink salmon in our waters and we’re keen that anglers know we are aware of the sightings and are investigating.

“I’d urge anglers to contact us if they see any non-native salmon in the waters, with a date, location and if possible a photograph, which would really help us identify them and build up a picture of where they are.

“We are monitoring the situation and early indications is that there is no major impact on wild fish stocks at this point in time.”

A pink salmon will have black oval spots on the tail, bluish back, silver flanks and a white belly, and will be between 40 and 60cm in length. Meanwhile native Atlantic salmon typically have no spots on the tail and will usually be larger - up to 110cm in length.

Anglers holding a salmon licence who catch pink salmon are asked not to return the fish to the water.

Instead they are asked to dispatch of them humanely and, if possible, make the fish available to the Environment Agency for inspection and further analysis.

Otherwise, they are asked to send a photograph of the fish and details of where it was caught it to Jon Shelley at the Environment Agency on jonathan.shelley@environment-agency.gov.uk