A major campaign aimed at conserving wild salmon stocks in Scotland's rivers by trying to close coastal netting stations has been launched.

The Salmon and Trout Association (S&TA) is spearheading the campaign, under the slogan "The Net Loss" and says the existence of this fishery is indefensible at a time of such uncertain marine survival because of factors related to climate change.

Scotland banned salmon drift netting more than 40 years ago but still allows a declared average annual catch of some 25,000 salmon to be killed in almost 60 mixed stock fisheries around Scotland's coastline.

S&TA wants to facilitate their negotiated closure through buying or leasing the associated heritable rights.

Paul Knight, executive director of S&TA, said: "The Atlantic salmon is one of the truly great iconic species of Scotland.

"It is far too valuable a resource to the rural economy for its long-term future to be put at risk by unrestrained and non-selective coastal netting.

"The marine survival of salmon has fallen dramatically in the last 40 years and accordingly it is vital that those which do survive are able to reach their rivers of birth, where they can spawn the next generation.

"With marine survival such a lottery, the precautionary principle really must prevail ñ and this means drastically reducing indiscriminate exploitation."

He said the fact mixed stock netting catch was currently allowed to kill as many returning adults as they can catch made a complete mockery of attempts by river managers to maintain and restore fish numbers.

George Holdsworth, Scottish policy director for S&TA, commented: "We hope that the new Scottish Government will build its conservation credentials by adopting a far more robust line on mixed stocks salmon netting.

"We are not at this point asking the Government to close down netting stations, although it has the powers to do so on conservation grounds, but rather to give an unequivocal signal that it wishes to see a major reduction in netting effort on a willing buyer, willing seller basis."

S&TA has already opened discussions with the owners of two netting stations.