The River Test is where modern fly fishing was invented, now it has a salmon problem.
Salmon fishing has been suspended on part of the River Test at Broadlands, the Hampshire estate closely associated with the Royal family, after what the estate described as a season without a single salmon catch, according to reporting by the Daily Mail.
The paper said Broadlands, a 4,500-acre estate with a two-and-three-quarter-mile stretch of the chalk stream, took the decision to halt salmon fishing following the 2025 season. The estate manager, Andrew Forrester, told the Daily Mail the move reflected the scale of the decline, and said chalk-stream salmon are classed as endangered by the Environment Agency.
The report cited anglers blaming reduced flows on over-abstraction by the local water company, a long-running point of contention on chalk streams where flows depend on groundwater levels and extraction pressures. Southern Water, which supplies parts of Hampshire, told the Daily Mail that Atlantic salmon decline is a global issue and said it is investing in new water resources to protect rivers including the Test.
The River Test is one of a small number of globally rare chalk streams and has become a focal point in wider debates about water availability, drought planning and river ecology. In 2024, the Environment Agency said salmon stocks in England were at critically low levels, with 90% of principal salmon rivers classed as “at risk” or “probably at risk”.
Pressure on chalk stream flows has moved up the policy agenda during recent dry periods. In August 2025, the Guardian reported that Southern Water applied for a drought order affecting abstraction rules on the River Test, drawing criticism from campaigners concerned about ecological thresholds.
The company has separately promoted the Havant Thicket Reservoir scheme as a long-term measure to improve supply resilience and reduce reliance on chalk streams including the Test and Itchen.
For river owners and operators, the decline also carries an economic dimension. The Daily Mail report said some salmon beats on the Test can command day rates of about £400, linking ecological performance to high-value rural recreation.
