The status of salmon in Scotland: 2025
An overview of the status of wild Atlantic salmon stocks in Scotland up to 2025, based on information on returning adult salmon.
The assessment for the 2026 angling season highlights that most stocks (115 out of 173 – 66%) are in poor conservation status, and these are spread throughout the country (Figure 1). The large (east coast) rivers, which contain most of Scotland’s wild salmon, tend to be of good conservation status. Despite only 18% of stocks overall being in good conservation status they are estimated to hold approximately 84% of the total number of Scottish salmon. Between the 2017 and 2026 angling seasons there has been a decline in the number of stocks in good conservation status, from 61 (2017) to a proposed 32 (2026), highlighting the need for action to safeguard this iconic species (Figure 2).
Figure 1: Map of Scotland showing the proposed conservation status of the 173 stocks assessed for the 2026 angling season.
Figure 2: Changes in the conservation status of Scottish salmon stocks for the 2017-2026 angling seasons. Data source: Marine Directorate, The status of salmon in Scotland.