Tim Bonner: Signs of recovery for Scotland's salmon?

Optimism can be a dangerous thing, especially when dealing with species recovery, but salmon catch returns from Scotland last year should allow at least a hint of positivity. There are many factors that affect catch numbers, not least the amount of water in rivers, but the number of salmon arriving back from the sea is a major one. 

Provisional figures suggest a rod catch of just under 47,000 fish in 2024 with an additional 835 taken in nets. To put those figures into perspective the annual catch in Scotland was over 500,000 in the 1960s and 70s with most of those coming from net fishing. Whilst last year’s catch cannot compare to those numbers it is significantly up on 2023 and 2022.

The River Tweed (or Tweed if you prefer) returns are illustrative of this trend. Last year 9,947 salmon were caught which is the best return since 2013. The River Tweed Commission, which is responsible for the protection and improvement of salmon and sea trout populations on the river, said favourable fishing conditions and a greater number of returning salmon had contributed to the rise. 

Data from the Commission’s fish counters on the Tweed's tributaries also indicate a significant increase in salmon numbers in 2024. The Gala Water recorded 2,168 salmon, compared to an average of 1,363 since records began in 2000. Similarly, the Whiteadder saw 890 salmon, well over its average of 628. ​

Now one swallow certainly does not make a summer and salmon still face any number of challenges including at sea exploitation, predation, agricultural pollution in rivers and salmon farming on the West coast of Scotland, but much has improved in recent decades and nearly every step forward has been the direct result of action by those with a direct interest in fishing. Habitat restoration projects, such as riverside tree planting to moderate water temperatures and improve water quality, the removal of barriers to migration and better practice to avoid agricultural pollution, have all helped increase the number of mature salmon reaching spawning grounds and the number of smolts leaving rivers on their long migration. 

In addition, the culture of catch-and-release, with over 95% of salmon caught in Scottish rivers being returned to the water, and the near total buyout of salmon netting operations - which harvested hundreds of thousands of fish when salmon were a plentiful commodity - mean that far fewer fish are being killed before they can reproduce.

There is a long, long way to go before the Scottish salmon population returns to its full potential, and in most of England and Wales you have to look hard for even the green shoots of a recovery, but you can be absolutely certain that without the hard work and dedication of fishermen, the salmon would be continuing its spiral towards extinction.