Campaigners raise concerns about funding to boost salmon and trout stocks

Campaigners have raised “serious concerns” about funding aimed at tackling a decline in wild salmon and sea trout numbers.

Salmon Scotland is awarding £230,000 to projects to help protect river habitats and spawning grounds.

The money is part of a wider £1.5 million investment from the organisation, which represents Scotland’s salmon farming industry to help rebuild wild fish populations.

Jon Gibb, co-ordinator of the Salmon Scotland wild fisheries fund, said the cash “allows local groups to carry out the practical work their rivers need”.

But with numbers of wild salmon and sea trout having been declining for years, Nick Underdown, Scotland director of the charity WildFish, said “real action is urgently needed”.

Adding that fish numbers are in “crisis”, he said having “funding from the very industry contributing to that crisis raises serious concerns”.

Mr Underdown said: “Open-net salmon farming results in sea-lice infestations, disease, pollution and escapes of farmed fish which risk diluting the genetic strength of wild salmon.

“A £230,000 fund does nothing to address these impacts and represents a tiny fraction of industry profits being exported overseas, while Scottish rivers and communities bear the costs.

“However well-intentioned individual projects may be, there is a real risk that accepting funding from Salmon Scotland makes it harder for recipients to speak openly about the environmental damage caused by open-net salmon farming.”

However Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said: “Wild salmon is part of Scotland’s identity, yet its numbers have been falling for decades.

“Climate change, damaged river habitats and pressures at sea are all taking their toll, and the decline is now being felt in rivers right across the country.

“Scotland’s salmon farmers want to play their part in finding solutions. Through this fund we are supporting practical, community-led projects that restore rivers, protect spawning grounds, and improve the conditions wild fish need to survive.

“Our sector has world-leading expertise in hatching and rearing salmon, and we are sharing that knowledge to support conservation and restocking efforts.

“Collaboration between farmed and wild sectors is essential if we are to give wild salmon and sea trout the best chance of recovering.”