The status of salmon in Scotland: 2026
An overview of the status of wild Atlantic salmon stocks in Scotland up to 2026, based on information on returning adult salmon.
The assessment for the 2027 angling season shows that most, 123 out of 173 (71%), of the salmon stocks in Scotland are in poor conservation status. These stocks are spread throughout the country (Figure 1).
However, the picture is different when looking at the number of individual salmon rather than the number of stocks. Scotland’s larger east coast rivers tend to be in good conservation status, and these rivers contain most of Scotland’s wild salmon. Although only 13% of stocks are in good conservation status, they are estimated to contain about 73% of the total number of Scottish salmon.
The number of stocks in good conservation status has declined from 61 in 2017 to a proposed 22 in 2027. Over the same time the number of stocks in poor conservation status has increased from 75 to a proposed 123 (Figure 2).
Figure 1: Map of Scotland showing the proposed conservation status of the 173 stocks assessed for the 2027 angling season.
Figure 2: Changes in the conservation status of Scottish salmon stocks for the 2017-2027 angling seasons. Data source: Marine Directorate, The status of salmon in Scotland.