It is encouraging that there is a system scientifically designed to monitor salmon stocks on the basis of adult returns from Year to year. Since there are continuing signals that salmon are suffering continuing declines at sea it makes sense to impose strict measures on conservation status.

An annual assessment and monitoring to gather the data is necessary to  produce a policy plan for AS in Scotland. Monitoring and protecting salmon to a freshwater management target needs to be encouraged given the current poor sea survival which must threaten future smolt outputs.

Fish counters and angling data are very useful and require careful validation so that a valid population estimate can be made.

Catch and release angling should be encouraged where this can be managed and where angling clubs encourage this. Any exploitation should be scientifically based and with the support of local angling clubs and local communities. Otherwise, salmon will likely continue to decline. Whilst there is much research going on at sea to investigate poor sea survival this should not encourage a neglect of the freshwater habitat as freshwater provides the essential spawning and nursery areas. The extent to which WFD accommodates salmon management plans should be fully investigated and salmon given a high priority within the WFD plans

It is also interesting that targets are defined based on wetted area defining an ova requirement at a specific requirement / m². 2.84.

Having assessed a number a small salmon river in Ireland for their habitat structure using a Life Cycle Unit analysis I am particularly interested in the Hydrogeomorpholocical (HGM) profile of individual rivers. I believe smaller salmon rivers should by audited not only for their water quality but the quantities of HGM habitat type they contain. For example, individual rivers will have spawning areas distributed over a wide area and each river will have its own unique distribution of spawning, nursery and holding habitat. How this relates to the development and output of smolts in relation to ova, alevin, fry parr would be of interest and may require a catchment monitoring plan.

It is interesting to note that many of the poor conservation status rivers are relatively smaller and begs the question does the habitat within these rivers need to be managed and remaining nursery habitat protected to ensure sufficient smolt output.

Salmon Management Plans in the context of the Water Framework Directive

Is the Water framework Directive (WFD) failing to provide the improved water quality necessary for effective Atlantic salmon management in Scotland?

The WFD is tasked with improving river water quality to acceptable levels of ecological status which must include the ubiquitous salmon populations in Scottish rivers. Some suggest that protecting freshwater habitat will make little difference to salmon stocks when sea survival rates are so low. However, how can stocks ever recover if freshwater habitat for spawning, nursery growth and residence of adults prior to spawning is not protected.

I therefore make no apologies for supporting a focus on protecting nursery habitat for salmon in rivers where local communities and salmonid angling interests represent community desires and rights to maintain salmon populations in local rivers.

A key question, are clean rivers and abundant salmon runs important to society, local communities and sustainable living when balanced against other economic priorities?  We all have our own answer at least in the way we choose to spend our money and or utilise our resources.

As a lifelong angler for Atlantic salmon and with memories of catching salmon around river Endrick Lough Lomond and on many Tweed beats, I ask if salmon conservation measures are sufficiently delivered to reverse the terrible negative decline in populations, particularly noticeable in many smaller individual rivers. Many anglers throughout Scotland and beyond contribute to Scotland’s economy and the  social well-being of local communities. That so many participate is in part a demonstration of the value given to attempting to catch a wild Atlantic salmon. Climate change and increased water temperatures in both marine and freshwater have a negative impact, and it is widely reported that juvenile salmon suffer from heat stress when freshwater temperatures reach 18- 20 degrees centigrade. Also, it has been recently reported that the sea temperature in Norway has increased to 4 degrees above normal with strong evidence of an explosion of the sea lice parasite with negative consequence on the morbidity and mortality of smolts at sea.  2025 is shaping up to be the worst year on record for salmon numbers in Ireland.

The old cliché perhaps that we know the cost of everything but may not know the value of our natural environment including the needs for clean rivers with a good hydro-geomorphological (HGM). Economic and social progress and severely modified the hydro geomorphology profile of many rivers over many years with pressures from drainage, pollution, infrastructure, hydroelectricity, coniferous forestry, bog management have all had an impact.

These correlations and statements are not new and have been presented and discussed for years, but strategies and plans have not yet delivered the required turnaround in the fortunes of Atlantic salmon as the population abundance continues to decline. We now need to prioritise Atlantic salmon needs more than ever or simply watch the species decline to a level of unfishable rarity.