Trade body Salmon Scotland will allocate conservation funds totalling £230,000 (US$300,000) to repair Scotland’s rivers and help halt the sharp decline in wild salmon and sea trout.
The association's wild fisheries fund will back projects that strengthen river habitats, protect spawning grounds, and boost survival rates for wild fish. This forms part of a wider five-year, £1.5 million (US$2 million) investment from Scotland’s salmon farmers to support river restoration and help rebuild wild fish populations.
Now entering its fifth year, the funding round will close on March 31, 2026. Grants will be available to all river catchment organisations across Scotland, with particular interest in areas where aquaculture and wild salmon fisheries overlap.
Salmon Scotland said wild salmon and sea trout numbers across the UK have been falling for decades, driven by habitat loss, rising river and sea temperatures, and pressure on migration routes. Marine survival has dropped to between one and five per cent, compared with around 25 per cent 30 years ago.
Other threats include invasive plants choking riverbanks, predation by birds, fish and seals, and obstacles such as dams and weirs that prevent fish from reaching their spawning grounds.
Since 2021, the fund – previously known as the "wild salmonid fund" – has invested around £705,000 (US$934,000) in practical river restoration across Scotland.