Salmon fishing: proposed conservation statuses for 2027 season

The status of wild Atlantic salmon in Scotland

It is widely acknowledged that wild Atlantic salmon are in decline across their North Atlantic range. In 2025, we published our second Progress Report detailing the progress made towards the Implementation Plan to our Scottish Wild Salmon Strategy.

In the proposed river conservation status’ for the 2027 season, 123 out of 173 stocks (71%) have been assessed to be in poor conservation status. These figures form part of a long-term trend in the decline of salmon populations over the past few decades. Further details on the status of Scottish salmon stocks are available on our website.