DECONTAMINATION checkpoints are to be set up at rivers and lochs across Scotland to prevent the spread of a parasite that has wiped out Norwegian salmon stocks.

Anglers, canoeists, sailors and windsurfers who have recently been in Europe will be required to disinfect clothes and equipment before taking to the water. Checkpoints similar to those during the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak are designed to prevent the Gyrodactylus salaris (Gs) parasite arriving in Scotland.

It is feared that the freshwater fluke would devastate the Scottish salmon fishing industry, which is worth £75m a year and employs 3,000 people.

The parasite has decimated salmon stocks in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Norway, where it has virtually wiped out fish in 20 rivers. Gs is native to rivers flowing from the Baltic Sea, and fish in Scotland have no resistance to it.

Gs uses hooks in its tail to attach itself to fish and then releases a digestive solution to dissolve salmon skin on which it feeds. Wild salmon are most vulnerable, but smolt raised in fresh water to supply saltwater commercial fish farms can also be affected.

The creature is capable of surviving for several days in damp conditions and can be spread on clothing and equipment, such as waders, fishing tackle, canoes and windsurfing or sailing gear.

Under the new plan, spearheaded by the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards (ASFB), disinfectant spray and foot baths will be put in fishing huts, car parks and sailing clubs beside rivers and lochs. Anglers and watersports enthusiasts recently returned from abroad will have to sign a declaration that they have disinfected their equipment.

Signs will also be erected along the country’s 42 salmon rivers warning anglers aboutthe parasite.

The Scottish government has set up a task force to advise on the threat and drawn up a contingency plan to contain Gs in the event of an outbreak. Currently, there is no reliable treatment for the parasite. If it were found in a river, the entire fish stock would have to be eradicated to prevent its spread.

“If this parasite came into Scotland it would be devastating,” said Brian Davidson, director of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards and a member of the task force. “It could effectively wipe out the salmon fishing industry . . . All rivers will have the signage and disinfectant by the start of the salmon fishing season next February.”

Signs have already been put in place on the shores of some of the country’s best-known salmon rivers, including the Tweed, Dee and Spey, he said.

Ronnie Picken, president of the Scottish Anglers’ National Association, said: “We very much welcome the disinfectant stations on river and loch shores, but it is the last line of defence.

“Ideally we would have liked disinfectant at airports and ports ensuring that anyone bringing in fishing tackle, canoes and kayaks into Scotland from an infected area would be able to disinfect the items at the point of entry.”

Dr John Webster, technical director of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, said Gs posed a serious threat to the salmon farming industry, which is worth £350m a year.

“If the parasite was detected on a freshwater farm all the fish would have to be killed,” he said. “However, it would be much easier to contain the parasite on a fresh farm as the fish are in tanks and there is someone constantly monitoring them.”

A spokesman for the Scottish government said: “It is absolutely vital that anglers and canoeists coming to Scotland from abroad are aware of the risk that Gs poses and how to ensure it doesn’t come to these shores.

“We have funded a public information and education campaign and also established the Gs task force, which has produced a comprehensive contingency plan for tackling any introduction of the parasite.”

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