Salmon fishing: proposed conservation statuses for 2027 season

Proposed conservation statuses and regulations

You may also check the proposed 2027 status for individual rivers, or more detailed information for any of the rivers.

The overall position, and the net effect of the various changes is summarised in the table below:

The detailed changes for the coming year are:

Conservation status has improved for three stocks compared to the previous year, with three stocks no longer requiring mandatory catch-and-release. These are:

• Barr Water
• Little Gruinard River Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
• River Etive

Conservation status has declined in 21 stocks compared to the previous year, including 11 stocks which will become mandatory catch and release fisheries in 2027. These are:

• Kinloch River
• River Clyde
• River Creed
• River Forth
• River Hinnisdal
• River Morar
• River Moriston SAC
• River Ness
• River South Esk SAC
• River Teith
• Ullapool River

The River Leven (Dunbartonshire), assessed as being in moderate conservation status, is awarded poor conservation status to reflect the lower status of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in the catchment - Endrick Water SAC.

We propose that River Ness, assessed as being in moderate conservation status, should be awarded poor conservation status to reflect the lower status of a SAC in the catchment - River Moriston SAC.

The River Teith SAC is assessed as being in moderate conservation status, while the Forth is in poor conservation status. However, the situation is complicated by the overlap between the areas (the Teith SAC extends into the River Forth) and we again propose that we should use the lower of the two statuses for both areas, as we have done in previous years.

Proposed regulations

The Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulations 2016 ('the 2016 regulations'), as amended, set out the regime for the regulation of salmon fishing in Scotland. In general terms the 2016 regulations:

• rely on catches over a five year period (and suitable electronic fish counter data that are available) to inform the conservation status assessment
• prohibit the retention of salmon caught in coastal waters
• permit the killing of salmon within inland waters where stocks are above a defined conservation limit (the minimum safe stock level) – i.e. those rivers accorded good or moderate conservation status for the fishing season
• require mandatory release of salmon (termed 'catch-and-release') in areas which fall below their defined conservation limit following the assessment of salmon stocks – i.e. those rivers accorded poor conservation status for the season

For the 2027 season, the Scottish Government will bring forward amending regulations which will replace the current Schedule 2. This schedule details the specific inland waters which are subject to the prohibition on retaining salmon.

No other changes are currently proposed for the 2027 season conservation statuses.

River Tweed

Separate legislation and arrangements are in place for the management of salmon and freshwater fisheries in the River Tweed district. The Tweed Regulation (Salmon Conservation) (No. 2) Order 2016 ('the Tweed No. 2 Order') came into force on 1 April 2017 and made provision to regulate the taking of salmon in the district. In effect the Tweed No. 2 Order:

• prohibits the retention of salmon caught in the coastal waters in the Tweed district
• allows the retention of salmon caught in the Tweed and all inland waters in the district as defined in article 2(1)(a) of the Tweed No. 2 Order

The outcome of the conservation assessment for the Tweed for the 2027 season again accords the river good conservation status. In light of this, the Scottish Government does not propose to amend the legislation, and the Tweed No. 2 Order will remain in force.