LIFE project: Partnerships to safeguard Atlantic salmon in Scottish rivers

The Annex II-listed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), the so-called 'king of fish', is widely distributed throughout the North Atlantic, including Europe. However, populations have shown a steady decline in many countries over the last fifty years. This has been attrib­uted to habitat and water quality issues in freshwater, and also to changes in the marine environment. The situation has worsened considerably since the 1970s and catches of wild salmon have fallen by 80%. River pollution caused by industrialisation has severely damage local populations, as has the increased number of man-made obstacles such as dams and weirs, and the alteration of watercourses, which makes migration impossible.

The UK salmon population accounts for a large proportion of the total European stock, with Scotland considered a stronghold for the Atlantic salmon – a 'flagship species' serving as a useful indicator of water quality. The salmon is also economically important to Scotland – worth more than €100 million a year and generating some 2 000 jobs (source: Scottish government). Scotland has more than 300 salmon rivers, supporting many hundreds of populations, each of which is genetically distinct. But even in Scotland, where the water quality is generally good, the species is subject to many external pressures.

The LIFE CASS project was launched in 2004 to tackle some of the fresh­water threats that have led to a serious decline in salmon abundance in Scotland. These include over-exploitation from netting and angling, physical degradation of spawning and nursery grounds, the intro­duction of non-native stocks, and water pollution. Project partners included eight district salmon fishery boards – which collectively are responsible for roughly 40% of the wild salmon resource in Scot­land. The initiative also brought together conservation agencies, the private energy company, Scottish and Southern Energy, and the Scottish government.

Aided by the administrative support of the government conservation agency, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and the ground-level support of the fishery boards, the project's overall objective was to maintain the abundance and diversity of Atlantic salmon in Scotland. This was to be achieved by improving the natural freshwater habitats and management regimes through joint efforts and partnerships. It also aimed to raise awareness among stakeholders and the general public of the needs of the species.

Eight rivers were chosen to demonstrate how a range of problems could be resolved through consensus among all parties concerned. The rivers (all Natura 2000 sites) include some of the most famous salmon fishing rivers in the world, such as the Dee, Tweed, Tay and Spey.

Moreover selected rivers are in sites already achieving 'good ecological sta­tus' (according to the Water Framework Directive) and 'favourable conservation status' (according to the Habitats Direc­tive). In total more than 200 practical actions were planned over the four-year project.

These included the purchase or lease of netting rights to halt commercial salmon netting on the Oykel and Bladnoch rivers, improv­ing and restoring access to rivers through the removal of 25 man-made obstacles and in-stream habitat improvement works to restore spawning and juvenile habitat. The project also aimed to address the problems of silting-up along eroded river banks through fencing and stabilising structures. In some rivers, it planned to introduce fish to newly restored sections. It would also use fish counters to provide more accurate information on the status of salmon in several sites.

Fishermen, landowners and other river users

The results were impressive, and some areas performed better than expected. For example, the project aimed to improve 40 000 m2 of degraded streams, but in fact restored more than 70 000 m2. It also aimed to fence 52 km of riverbank  to prevent uncontrolled grazing, but in fact around 80 km was actually fenced. Other goals such as removing 25 obsta­cles to migration, riverbank forest man­agement and restocking of rivers were all achieved. The project also produced a guidance document on gravel extrac­tion, which can lead to the removal of valuable spawning habitat in salmon rivers.

A major achievement was the develop­ment of a very successful partnerships and hugely improved relationships between the various stakeholders. Wallace says that this situation hasn't always existed. "What started off as deep apprehension has been com­pletely turned around and most people learnt a lot in the process – that’s been a big positive aspect." Preliminary results, reported as the project drew to a close (in the summer of 2008), showed that salmon were returning to some rivers, one of which, the Coy, a Dee tributary, had not seen salmon in some parts for more than 250 years.

Lessons learnt

The project has helped the partners to gain a better understanding of the tech­nical issues involved in salmon conser­vation and to develop expertise in some crucial areas such as fish-passage installation, riparian work and in-stream work.

The capacity for general awareness-raising of issues affecting salmon has also increased through the dissemina­tion of a wide range of information at different levels to different recipients. The partners have developed valuable project management skills and the work to help salmon has also had a direct positive influence on populations of the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera magaritifera) – another Annex II-listed species – due to the symbiotic relation­ship between the two species.

The project also achieved some other important and lasting results: not only is the strong project partnerships devel­oped through the project continuing, but the 'Salmon in the Classroom' project, an innovative education awareness pro­gramme for schoolchildren, is also con­tinuing due to its popularity. Furthermore, benefits to the local economies are also likely to accrue in the long-term due to improvements of salmon stocks.

For more information go to http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life

Project number:       LIFE04 NAT/GB/000250

Title:                                       Conservation of Atlantic salmon in Scotland (CASS)

Beneficiary:                             Scottish Natural Heritage