David Beckham caught in salmon storm as Norwegians claim star was given special treatment for fly fishing trip in fjords when it is usually forbidden

David Beckham has been embroiled in a salmon scandal after travelling to Norway for a fishing trip.

The football star’s trip to the fjords has angered locals who say he was given preferential treatment for an activity that is usually forbidden.

Last week, the former footballer was filmed fishing in a river normally subject to strict restrictions, the Times reported.

The Laerdal River in southwest Norway, where one local said Beckham was spotted, is also known as the “Queen of Salmon Rivers” because it is often visited by the country’s king and queen.

Norwegians, however, have recently been subject to strict restrictions on salmon fishing in an attempt to save declining fish stocks.

This summer, the government’s environment agency banned fishing in the Laerdal River and 33 other rivers after a study found salmon numbers had halved.

This decline is thought to be due in part to global warming and also to the spread of parasites from fish farms.

Beckham’s trip has sparked criticism of local authorities and even led to allegations that they may have exploited a costly loophole in regulations.

Despite the ban, there is, however, one exception to the rule: a practice known as (stock fishing).

This is where the salmon, once caught, are transported to a hatchery where their eggs are collected for artificial insemination.

Such expeditions require donations of up to 1.4 million kroner (around £100,000) to the organisations running the hatcheries, according to Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende.

It was also reported that Liv Signe Navarsete, the governor of the surrounding county, decided to let the trip go ahead, going against the decision of her staff.

The 65-year-old politician said when she announced the trip could go ahead, she did not know the former England captain would be taking part.

She added that she intervened this time because an earlier decision to cancel the trip was based on an “incomplete research report.”

However, lawyer and keen fisherman Rune Svoren has accused the rules of being broken after he was prevented from fishing on the Laerdal.

He said fishing rights on the river were essentially being sold by owners out the back door.

There is no suggestion that Beckham did anything wrong and a spokesman for the footballer told The Times that although he had not been involved in organising the trip, it had been carried out in accordance with regulations.

The row follows renewed controversy in the Norwegian press a week ago, when a television channel showed footage of the 49-year-old fishing in a body of water near Sognefjord, the country’s longest fjord.

Beckham has recently developed an interest in angling and has visited the salmon rivers of Iceland with filmmaker Guy Ritchie.

He also took his son Brooklyn on a boat to Weymouth, Dorset, to catch John Dory.