Salmon farmers offer £230,000 for wild fish projects in 2025

A conservation fund to help save Scotland’s wild salmon is now open for 2025 applications. The wild fisheries fund from salmon farming trade body Salmon Scotland’s will invest an additional £230,000 over the next year to address declining fish numbers by restoring habitats, protecting against predators, and supporting river restocking.

It is part of a broader five-year, £1.5 million investment from salmon farmers.

Now in its fourth year, the fund closes on March 31, and grants are available to all river catchment organisations across Scotland, with a particular focus on areas where aquaculture and wild salmon fisheries overlap.

Long decline

Wild salmon and sea trout populations across the UK have been in decline for decades, which Salmon Scotland says is largely due to habitat loss and rising river and sea temperatures. The Scottish Government has also identified other pressures facing wild salmon, including non-native plants, predation by fish, birds, and seals, and obstacles to fish passage, such as dams and weirs.

The marine survival rate of wild salmon has dropped to between 1% and 5%, compared to around 25% in the 1990s.

Previously called the ‘wild salmonid fund,’ around £475,000 has been invested since 2021 in projects such as restoring a historic dam in the Western Isles to help wild salmon reach their spawning grounds, and efforts to reduce riverbank erosion and provide cover for young salmon.

Last year, eight projects were funded, including the West Coast Genebank, a partnership between Otter Ferry Seafish and the River Ruel Improvement Association, which helps restore Atlantic salmon populations in the River Ruel by growing young salmon into adults in a hatchery.

Another initiative was a habitat restoration project on the Mauchline Burn, run by the Ayrshire Rivers Trust, which installs livestock fencing and plants trees to stabilise riverbanks and create new habitats for salmon.

The 2025 fund will again be co-ordinated by Jon Gibb, a fisheries 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.

Serious threats to fish

Gibb said: “As a salmon fishery manager with over 25 years of experience on the west coast of Scotland, I am once again delighted to coordinate this fund on behalf of Salmon Scotland. In 2023, wild Atlantic salmon in Scotland and across the UK were officially classified as an endangered species.

“This keystone species faces serious threats from a wide range of impacts both in the river and at sea, and projects aimed at better understanding and mitigating these threats are urgently needed. I am also pleased that the fund is now available to all Scottish river management organisations, as the rapid decline in salmon numbers is being seen across the Scottish mainland and beyond.” Andrew Barker, of the River Ruel Improvement Association, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Salmon Scotland wild fisheries fund for making possible a very exciting project to grow to maturity salmon parr taken from the river before releasing them back into the river to spawn.

“This pilot scheme is being developed using the unique onshore facilities of Otter Ferry Seafish and with the help of the Argyll Fisheries Trust and it is hoped that it will provide a blueprint in due course for other Scottish rivers to protect and increase their salmon stocks.”

Struan Candlish, a fisheries biologist with Ayrshire Rivers Trust said: “This is the third year we’ve been supported by the fund, and we just can’t overstate how important it is. The impact this project and others like it have is significant and will help to support wild Scottish salmon for many years to come.”

Salmon Scotland chief executive Tavish Scott said wild salmon have been in decline for decades on both the east and west coasts, due to climate change and habitat destruction.

“Scotland’s salmon farmers want to continue playing their part in finding solutions, working constructively with the wild fish sector and taking meaningful action to save wild salmon.

“Many salmon farmers are anglers themselves, and most in the fisheries and angling sectors understand the importance of a healthy, shared environment, where fish can thrive in our waters.

“Through the success of farm-raised salmon, we’ve developed world-leading expertise in hatching and rearing salmon that can thrive at sea. Alongside financial support for projects, our members are sharing their knowledge and experience to assist wild fisheries with re-stocking, further proving that collaboration is key to reversing the worrying decline in wild salmon numbers.”