Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish.
The wild Atlantic salmon, kingpin and ‘natural royalty’ of the river, is officially an endangered species in Britain. Stocks recorded by the Environment Agency in England and Wales crashed from 20,000 in 2017 to an all-time low of 5,399 in 2023.
Salmon lead a perilous life: after one to three years in the river in which they were born, they set out to sea on a 2,000-mile round trip to feeding grounds in the North Atlantic, dodging predators all the way. Those that do make it back to their natal waters face further hazards on the run to spawning grounds up river.
However, for all of the past century, millions did succeed in the heroic quest: British rivers from Devon to Scotland teemed with agile, silvery fish, flinging their powerful bodies over waterfalls and weirs. Many were caught — 6,000 in one year on the River Wye alone — but many made it through to produce the next generation.
As stocks decreased, it was made illegal to catch a wild salmon in Wales; in England, 95% of landed fish are released. Yet numbers are still falling remorselessly. Only 225 salmon were recorded on the Wye last year; the local salmon association blames agricultural run-off, mostly from chicken farms. ‘Dirty rivers are certainly part of the problem,’ agrees Dylan Roberts, head of fisheries at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. ‘Female salmon lay eggs in gravel, which gets silted up, reducing oxygen and affecting their quality.’
‘The dramatic decline in wild Atlantic salmon stocks is signalling that we have significant problems in these ecosystems.’
There are remedies, Mr Robert suggests, such as re-wiggling rivers to create spawning grounds, better sewage infrastructure and control of run-off. The Missing Salmon Alliance, a group of conservation NGOs, says restoration of freshwater catchment is vital to give young adults the best chance at sea. ‘But even if you could magically clean up rivers,’ warns Mr Roberts, ‘there are other problems. Most worrying is that there are many fewer fish returning to their home rivers — 1%–5% — and those that do make it back are smaller. It seems that changing water temperatures are affecting their diet.’
Data from the Alliance reveals a dramatic decline in the prey of the fish, such as sand eels and blue whiting, on which young salmon feed at the start of their journey to the North Atlantic. ‘What happens at sea is the big question,’ suggests Mr Roberts. ‘Is temperature change the main culprit — salmon might adapt to global warming over time, but not quickly enough — or is it bycatch in gill nets and trawlers? We do believe fisheries are catching a lot of juvenile salmon, but they are not included in the international regulation of bycatch, as porpoises, rays or sharks are.’
Closer to home, open-net salmon farms along the west coast of Scotland are accused of contaminating wild salmon with pollution and infestations of sea lice. The sea lochs, small inlets and bays hosting the farms are often connected to estuaries used by wild salmon leaving and returning. ‘They are swimming past this soup of parasites, bacteria, chemicals and faeces,’ points out Mr Roberts.
A press release from Salmon Scotland last month counters that £1 billion has been spent by the industry on fish health since 2020, including on freshwater treatment vessels, staff training, improved monitoring and a reduction in the time farm-raised salmon spend in the sea; survival rates have improved and were nearly 100% in September.
An atlantic salmon attempting to jump up a waterfall in the Scottish Highlands, on a journey to spawning grounds. Credit: George Clerk via Getty
However, according to the Atlantic Salmon Trust, wild salmon are a ‘canary in the mine’ and a ‘keystone species’ delivering nutrients from the sea far up into freshwater catchments. They act as messengers, reporting back on the health and condition of these environments: ‘The dramatic decline in wild Atlantic salmon stocks is signalling that we have significant problems in these ecosystems.’
In cheerier news, stocks on the far north coast of Scotland have held up. Anson MacAuslan is the factor on the Langwell and Braemore estate in Caithness. ‘We don’t have the same problems as the south with pollution, change of land use and chemicals,’ he explains. ‘Our river catchments tend to be peatland and some forestry so the environment hasn’t changed that much. I’d say we are the last true stronghold.’
Selling salmon is illegal here and more than 95% of fish caught are released. Even so, Mr MacAuslan admits, numbers have declined. He still goes fishing: ‘It’s not about harvesting, it’s about being on the river, seeing how many fish are about. In November, I spend time in places where I know fish are spawning; I like to look around.’ Underwater filming of salmon for Sir David Attenborough’s Wild Isles was done on Berriedale Water, he reveals: ‘It’s not all doom and gloom.’
Jane Wheatley is a journalist and editor who is a regular contributor to publications including Country Life, The Times and the Sydney Morning Herald.
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