Brioude's Maison du saumon

Until the 1960s roughly, Atlantic salmon used to be plentiful in the Loire and Allier rivers.  It's estimated that during the 19th century something like 100,000 of the fish returned to spawn in the upper reaches of these rivers.  A couple of years ago, I vacationed in that area.  While I was there I came across an interesting little aquatic study center that tells some of the story of this fish.  The Maison du saumon in Brioude displays old photographs from the 1950s of individual and commercial fishermen taking advantage of all those fish.  I remember a picture of a restaurant kitchen with a pile of the fish waiting for cutting and cooking.  But since the mid-1980s salmon fishing in these rivers has been banned.  There are just too few of the fish.  Dams at critical points along the rivers blocked access to spawning grounds, over-fishing and pollution did the rest.

About 20 years ago, an effort called the Plan Loire Grandeur Nature set about trying to bring the salmon back.  And the numbers from several counting stations along the rivers indicate the plan is slowly having an effect.  From a low count of about 100 the numbers have risen to the mid-500s, and in 2012 the counting station at Vichy recorded 717.

The little Maison du saumon has been doing its part, too.  Along with the historical materials, visitors see aquariums with live salmon, and other varieties of fish, mostly from the Allier.  And there are displays on the restoration efforts.

This year the Maison is celebrating 25 years and Brioude wants to mark the event by updating and expanding its activities.  At the end of January, the city council voted to provide 30,000€ to buy new equipment.  They added another 10,000 to 15,000€ to support a partnership with the salmon counting station downstream at Vichy.  And they included 10,000€ for a study on new approaches to museum programs.

The salmon need all the help they can get and it's good to see Brioude supporting the Maison and its work.