What are conservation gradings and why do we need them?

Concerns regarding declining salmon stocks across Scotland have prompted a number of management plans to protect stocks. The Salmon Conservation Regulation came into effect on April 1 2016, and ensures that no salmon is taken from rivers in Scotland before 1 April each year in order to protect vulnerable spring stocks, more information can be found here. In 2022, the Scottish Wild Salmon Strategy was brought into effect by Marine Directorate and Environment and Forestry Directorate, with the Implementation Plan being released in 2023.

To protect salmon stocks, major salmon rivers across Scotland have been designated a grading level to determine if the numbers of returning adult salmon are sufficient enough to maintain adequate spawning and egg deposition and ultimately smolt output, with the hopes that the river produces a long-term and sustainable population of fish. Five years worth of catch data is required to determine a rivers grade. More information on salmon conservation legislation in Scotland can be found here.

Each river is allocated a grade between one and three, with each grade having different management actions:

• Good (grade one) – At least 80% probability of meeting the conservation limit. Exploitation is sustainable therefore no additional management action is currently required.

• Moderate (grade two) – 60-80% probability of meeting the conservation limit. Management action is necessary to reduce the exploitation of stocks. Catch and release should be promoted strongly at first, mandatory catch and release will be reviewed annually.

• Poor (grade three) – Less than 60% probability of meeting the conservation limit. Exploitation is unsustainable. Catch and release fishing is mandatory to reduce exploitation of the stocks.

The grading of each river is reviewed and, if needed, altered on a yearly basis. Detailed information on the grading system for specific rivers in Scotland can be found here.