A new fund has been launched to help save Scotland’s iconic wild salmon through habitat protection, protection from predators, and restocking programmes.
The Salmon Scotland Wild Fisheries Fund will see £145,000 invested by Scotland’s salmon farmers next year to stem the decline in fish numbers.
Wild salmon and sea trout populations throughout the UK have been in decline for decades – particularly because of habitat loss and rising river temperatures due to climate change and historic deforestation.
Scottish Government has identified other pressures facing wild salmon, including non-native plants, predation by pikes, eels, birds and seals, and obstacles to fish passage including dams and weirs.
The Wild Fisheries Fund replaces and builds on the work of the Wild Salmonid Fund, which has invested more than £190,000 since 2021. It will make more money available to a broader range of organisations and projects and signals Salmon Scotland’s long-term commitment to fund schemes.
Wild Atlantic salmon has a survival rate of only around 1-2%, compared to around 85% for a farm-raised salmon.
The wild fisheries fund will be co-ordinated by fishery manager Jon Gibb, a fisheries trust manager based in Fort William in the heart of the aquaculture sector, who has championed a constructive relationship between the farm-raised salmon sector and fisheries and angling groups.
“Both the farmed and wild salmon sectors have a common interest to thrive in our shared space and both rely on the rich heritage of the wild salmon and the angling that depends upon them,” Gibb said.
Salmon Scotland Chief Executive Tavish Scott said salmon farmers have a desire to save “one of Scotland’s most iconic species”.
Applications will be invited from fisheries organisations, including local angling clubs, fishery boards and other community associations.
The new fund is part of a total five-year investment of £1.5 million from salmon farmers.
To-date, grants have been used to save and restore a historic dam in the Western Isles that assists wild salmon to progress to their spawning grounds, as well as restoration projects to reduce riverbank erosion and measures to provide tree canopy and in-stream cover for young salmon.
The revamped fund will prioritise applications of a practical nature which aim to protect and enhance wild salmon populations and local angling opportunities, recognising that salmon and trout fishing is at the cultural heart of many Highland communities and provides human health benefits.
It will be open for applications on 1 February and the closing date will be 31 March, with decisions on grants taken by Salmon Scotland in April.
