Salmon fishing: proposed conservation statuses for 2027 season
Seeking your views on the proposed conservation statuses for the 2027 salmon fishing season. Submit your views by 4 September 2026.
Open
31 days to respond
Respond online
Changes from the 2026 assessment
The assessment for the 2027 season has followed the methodology developed in previous years. No new rivers or groups have been added for this year’s assessment.
While the methodology has not changed for the 2027 season, the assessment has been made using the most up to date data available from fish counters and catch returns from the 2025 fishing season. The 2021 fishing season was affected by the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic which inevitably led to a reduction in 'rod-effort' and the numbers of fish caught.
Although it is not possible to fully account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rod fishing, local information was used to develop methods which allow its impact to be accounted for in stock assessments for each river or group of rivers. This ensures that the outcomes of the assessment are based on the best available information. We published a paper on methods of accounting for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult salmon stock estimates in Scotland in 2021.