Wild salmon strategy implementation plan: annual progress report 2024
The second annual progress report under the Scottish wild salmon strategy implementation plan covering progress in 2024.
Progress Summary
Progress across each of the six thematic areas in the Wild Salmon Strategy Implementation Plan is summarised below. Detail on each of the actions is provided later in the Appendix.
1. Improving the condition of rivers and giving salmon free access to cold, clean water (27 actions)
During the reporting period, SEPA scoped 73 barriers to fish migration and 16 advanced to the design and licensing stage. Works to ease passage were completed on 6 barriers, bringing the total eased to 26.
Through Scotland’s River Basin Management Plans to date, 1400 kilometres of previously inaccessible habitat has been opened through the removal and easement of barriers to fish migration.
SEPA also undertook over 600 farm compliance visits to tackle diffuse pollution.
Juvenile salmon habitat is expected to benefit from recent updates to forestry guidance which include the revised UK Forestry Standard which came into effect in October 2024, prompting a subsequent minor revision of buffer stipulations in the UK Forestry Standard Practice Guide on Managing the Water Environment in January 2025.
The UK Forestry Standard Practice Guide on Creating and Managing Riparian Woodland was published in August 2024.
The 175,000 hectares of riparian land identified by the Woodlands for Riparian Benefits target areas continue to be eligible for enhanced support from the Forestry Grant Scheme administered by Scottish Forestry. The Scottish River Temperature Monitoring Network was crucial in identifying these areas.
The Peatland ACTION partnership has been working to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2030. Good progress is being made towards that ambitious target with a total of around 75,000 hectares to date, including over 10,000 hectares in 2023-24 - the highest ever amount in a single year.
NatureScot began a review of the species licensing system, including procedures for licensing lethal control of fish-eating birds.
In parallel, a review into the operation of the seal licensing system as required by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 is due to report by September 2025. To support non-lethal control of seals, acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs) were deployed on several rivers, supported by funding from the Marine Fund Scotland. FMS submitted a report on their effectiveness to the Marine Directorate.
Additionally, the Scottish Government-supported trials to develop an automatically triggered detect and deter system continued into 2024/25 with focused work taking place over winter 2024–25; results are expected in summer 2025.
Planning work is underway through the pink salmon task group to monitor and mitigate, where possible, the expected arrival of non-native pink salmon in the summer of 2025.
2. Managing exploitation through effective regulation, deterrents and enforcement (6 actions)
The FMS Enforcement Committee concluded preparatory work for a review of salmon poaching offences, submitting recommendations for potential legislative change to the Scottish Government.
Meanwhile, the requirement for prospective water bailiffs to complete formal training remains in place, ensuring professional enforcement standards are upheld.
Updated best practice guidance for catch and release was completed in 2024 and published in January 2025.
The Scottish Government continues to prohibit the retention of salmon in coastal waters until such a time as the conservation status of salmon allows for the consideration of removing this measure.
3. Understanding and mitigating pressures in the marine and coastal environment (9 actions)
A major milestone was the application of SEPA’s Sea Lice Risk Assessment Framework (SLRAF) following its launch in February 2024. This risk-based tool is designed to help support the sustainable development of fish farming in Scotland by introducing wild salmon protection zones on the west coast of Scotland and the Western Isles which will help to guide development towards the least sensitive locations, while introducing a higher degree of sea lice control for finfish farm operators in these areas. A framework for protecting sea trout populations commenced in March 2025.
Crown Estate Scotland continues to fund the post of Aquaculture Interactions Manager within FMS.
The Scottish Government prohibited sandeel fishing in Scottish Waters from March 2024.
The development of a new National Marine Plan for Scotland’s seas (NMP2) is underway.
4. Making a positive contribution through international collaborations (8 actions)
Scotland continues to play a key role in international salmon conservation through its contributions to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), and the Commission of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR).
In 2024, Scottish Government officials participated in the 41st Annual Meeting of NASCO in Westport, Ireland, contributing to the development of a new long-term strategy and action plan. Agreements were reached on maintaining key conservation measures, such as restrictions on distant water fisheries at West Greenland and the Faroes, and on updating NASCO’s guidelines for stocking. Scottish data also contributed to the development of a public-facing Wild Atlantic Salmon Atlas. Annual reporting requirements to NASCO were met, and officials participated in discussions to develop a new reporting and accountability framework for Parties, expected in 2025–26.
Scottish Government scientists maintained their involvement in the International Atlantic Salmon Research Board (IASRB), established by NASCO, supporting international collaboration on research into marine mortality. This included leading the development of a proposal for a multi-country study on salmon growth at sea using scale archives and machine learning tools, under consideration by IASRB for adoption in 2025.
5. Developing a modernised and fit for purpose policy framework (1 action)
In 2024, a Task and Finish Group, whose membership includes FMS, the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Scottish Government and a number of river-interest representatives, was convened to develop a suite of draft recommendations for strengthening the policy and funding framework that underpins local fisheries management.
A recommendations paper will be submitted to the Wild Salmon Strategy Delivery Group later in 2025 exploring long-term resourcing solutions for local management, informed by Scottish case studies, international best practice and engagement with local managers.
In parallel, work is progressing to establish a Scottish Rivers Fund - a new national initiative led by FMS and supported by the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS). The proposed Fund aims to unlock voluntary private investment in river catchment restoration.
Commencing in April 2024 for a period of three years, Crown Estate Scotland is funding the post of Wild Salmon Conservation Manager at FMS.
6. Building an evidence base through coordinated scientific research and monitoring (8 actions)
Monitoring programmes continued to generate vital data over the reporting period. Analysis of juvenile abundance and water quality data collected under the National Electrofishing Programme for Scotland (NEPS) 2023 is complete and will be published shortly, thereby providing a national picture of the status of juvenile salmon. Genetic samples collected during NEPS 2021 have been analysed and integrated with the NEPS survey design to provide more robust insights into regional variability in introgression through the National Introgression Programme for Scotland (NIPS). This work will be submitted for peer review in summer 2025. Laboratory analysis of genetic samples from NEPS 2023 is now complete and awaiting future data analysis.
The National Adult Salmon Sampling Programme (NASSP) progressed again this year with sampling undertaken during summer and autumn and analysis is ongoing.
Hydroacoustic cameras funded by the Scottish Government and deployed on the Rivers Laxford and Deveron continue to support Project Laxford (a partnership between Grosvenor’s Reay Forest Estate and the Atlantic Salmon Trust with support from West Sutherland Fisheries Trust) and Project Deveron (a partnership between the Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust, the Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board and the Atlantic Salmon Trust) and are now providing data used in stock assessments and to inform the 2025 Conservation Regulations.
Marine Directorate and the Helmsdale DSFB also invested significantly (almost £300k) to refurbish the Helmsdale fish counter and return it to working order.
Additional funding from the Marine Fund Scotland in 2024 is supporting the installation of new counters on the Rivers Creed and North Esk, and funding was awarded to FMS to develop innovative AI tools to increase automation of data analysis from sonar and video counters. These tools, being trialled on the Deveron, Laxford, and River Ayr, are designed for wider use across Scotland’s monitoring network.
During this reporting period the Wild Salmon Strategy Science and Evidence Board (SEB) reviewed the evidence on different methods of stocking for populations that are critically low (at risk of local extinction) including redistribution of eggs and fry, kelt reconditioning and smolt to adult supplementation. The outcome is in the final stages of development and is expected to be published during 2025.