Scottish fish farmers back inquiry into management of salmon rivers

Scotland’s salmon farmers have given their support to the idea of a Scottish Parliament inquiry into the management of the country’s wild salmon rivers.

The subject of holding such an inquiry emerged during exchanges between Mowi Scotland salmon farming chief Ben Hadfield, and Dr Alan Wells, chief executive of Fisheries Management Scotland (FMS), at Holyrood during a meeting of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (RAIC) two weeks ago. Both men were giving evidence to the RAIC in a follow-up to its 2024 inquiry into the salmon sector.

Hadfield and Wells had earlier disagreed about the impact of sea lice from fish farms on wild smolts, with the Mowi executive criticising a lack of “coalface” efforts by FMS to halt the decline in wild salmon populations (by restocking, planting shade on river banks, etc).

“FMS should put more into conservation. A rod licence is important, as are index rivers,” said Hadfield, who was representing trade body Salmon Scotland at the meeting.

'Very open to discussion'

Wells responded that he would be happy if the RAIC decided to recommend that there should be a further investigation into how wild salmon are managed.

“I would be very open to such a discussion in the next session of the Parliament. I am very happy to lay all of that stuff out,” said Wells, who added that the introduction of a rod licence was among recommendations FMS had recently made to the Scottish Government.

Salmon Scotland chief executive Tavish Scott today welcomed Wells’ position on both an inquiry and the introduction of rod licences, while also raising concerns about the level of investment in conservation projects aimed at improving habitats and supporting wild salmon. He said Scotland is lagging behind other countries that use rod licences for recreational anglers, which can help generate funding for conservation work.

Funding from fish farmers

More than £635,000 has been invested through the Salmon Scotland Wild Fisheries Fund in projects aimed at restoring rivers and rebuilding wild salmon populations.

A further £230,000 will be invested in fish conservation projects funded by the salmon sector in 2026.

“Wild salmon numbers have been declining for decades, with climate change, damaged river habitats and pressures at sea all taking their toll,” said Scott.

“Scotland’s salmon farmers are already playing their part in finding solutions, from funding river restoration projects to supporting research into wild salmon migration.

“We want wild salmon to recover so more money generated by angling needs to be invested in conservation.

“Rod licences used in other salmon fishing nations could help improve catch data and support conservation.”