Image shows a salmon leaping up a weir upstream in a river or stream

Table of contents

Approximate read time: 5 minutes

1. Species overview and extinction risk status

Atlantic salmon are large fish which are found domestically in rivers in Wales, Scotland and the North and South West of England.[1] They spend most of their life at sea; however, they also return to spawn in the same stretch of river in which they were hatched. As a result, from November to February each year, they can be seen travelling upstream, jumping over weirs and waterfalls, to get to the gravelly headwaters where they breed. Once hatched, juvenile Atlantic salmon will stay in freshwater for up to six years, after which they migrate back to the sea.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has a red list of threatened species that it describes as the “world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species”.[2]

In December 2023, the IUCN released an update of its red list at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai.[3] In this update, Atlantic salmon were reclassified from ‘least concern’ to ‘endangered’ in Great Britain due to a 30–50% decline in British populations since 2006, with projections estimating a 50–80% decline between 2010 and 2025.[4] Global populations of Atlantic salmon were also reclassified from ‘least concern’ to ‘near threatened’ due to a population decline of 23% since 2006. English chalkstream salmon and the Leven subpopulation in Scotland were given separate regional assessments and reclassified as ‘vulnerable’ and of ‘least concern’ respectively.

Focusing on the causes of population decline, the IUCN said that Atlantic salmon face multiple threats over the course of their migration.[5] One threat which has been found to affect all stages of their lifecycle is climate change. The IUCN stated that it influences the development of young salmon, reduces prey availability and allows invasive alien species to expand their range. The IUCN also explained that dams and other barriers block access to spawning and feeding grounds, with water pollution and sedimentation, mainly from logging and agriculture, leading to higher mortality of young salmon. In addition, breeding with escaped farmed salmon has been found to threaten wild populations and may weaken Atlantic salmon’s ability to adapt to climate change. Mortality due to salmon lice from salmon farms is also of “great concern”, with a significant threat additionally posed by the invasive Pacific pink salmon, which is “spreading rapidly” across northern Europe.

2. Government policy

In response to a parliamentary question about the environmental impact of farmed salmon, the previous government highlighted its membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) through which it committed to minimising the impact of salmon farming on wild populations.[6] In addition, the Environment Agency has said that action is being taken through the salmon five point approach.[7] This approach looked to improve marine survival of salmon, further reduce exploitation by nets and rods, remove barriers to migration and enhance habitat, safeguard sufficient flows, and maximise spawning success by improving water quality.

The previous government also noted that within the UK all salmon farming takes place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.[8] As aquaculture and marine management are devolved competencies, it stated that managing the environmental impact of salmon farming is the responsibility of the devolved administrations. The Scottish government produced a Scottish wild salmon strategy in January 2022 and an accompanying implementation plan in February 2023.[9] Further information on the Scottish government’s policy in this area is available on its website.[10] Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has published information about action it has taken to conserve salmon on its website, which it said included a series of regulations introduced in March 2014.[11]

The Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto did not explicitly set out its policy regarding Atlantic salmon. However, Labour said that it was committed to tackling pollution in rivers and seas.[12]

3. Calls for change

A number of organisations have called for more protections to safeguard Atlantic salmon populations. One such organisation is the Missing Salmon Alliance, which is made up of conservation focused organisations including the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fisheries Management Scotland, the Rivers Trust, the Angling Trust and Fish Legal.[13] Referring to the reclassification of Atlantic salmon as endangered, the alliance argued that “governments and regulators must now do much more to secure a future for this iconic species”.[14] As part of this, the alliance called for both the UK and devolved governments to give salmon a greater priority as part of its commitment to restore biodiversity in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework signed in 2022. This framework set out global goals to address ongoing biodiversity loss.[15]

4. Read more

Cover image by Jason Gillman on Pixabay.

References

  1. Wildlife Trusts, ‘Atlantic salmon: Scientific name—Salmo salar’, accessed 15 August 2024. Return to text
  2. International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, ‘Background and history’, accessed 15 August 2024. Return to text
  3. International Union for Conservation of Nature, ‘Freshwater fish highlight escalating climate impacts on species—IUCN red list’, 11 December 2023. Return to text
  4. International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, ‘Atlantic salmon: Salmo salar’, 2023; and Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, ‘IUCN classifies Atlantic salmon in Great Britain as endangered’, 14 December 2023. Return to text
  5. International Union for Conservation of Nature, ‘Freshwater fish highlight escalating climate impacts on species—IUCN red list’, 11 December 2023. Return to text
  6. House of Commons, ‘Written question: Salmon: Fish farming (9673)’, 22 January 2022. Return to text
  7. Environment Agency, ‘New report finds UK salmon stocks reaching crisis’, 25 July 2022; and ‘Restoring salmon stocks: Our journey to a new approach’, 6 May 2016. Return to text
  8. House of Commons, ‘Written question: Salmon: Fish farming (9673)’, 22 January 2022. Return to text
  9. Scottish Government, ‘Scottish wild salmon strategy’, 14 January 2022; and ‘Wild salmon strategy: Implementation plan 2023 to 2028’, 1 February 2023. Return to text
  10. Scottish Government, ‘Salmon and recreational fisheries’, accessed 15 August 2024. Return to text
  11. Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland), ‘Salmon conservation’, accessed 15 August 2024. Return to text
  12. Labour Party, ‘Labour Party manifesto 2024’, June 2024, p 59. Return to text
  13. Missing Salmon Alliance, ‘Home’, accessed 15 August 2024. Return to text
  14. Game and Wildlife Trust, ‘IUCN classifies Atlantic salmon in Great Britain as endangered’, 14 December 2023. Return to text
  15. House of Lords Library, ‘COP15: Global biodiversity framework’, 6 January 2023. Return to text