West Coast Salmon Rivers in Crisis

 ‘Riparian’ owners fund groundbreaking new research to save Scotland’s wild salmon.

The River Carron in Wester Ross, a renowned and traditionally productive salmon river, like many on Scotland’s west coast, experienced a steep decline in the population of Atlantic salmon during the late 1990’s. Frequent and dramatic spates which washed out breeding beds, increases in predation and sea catches have all helped reduce returning salmon numbers to the verge of extinction.

The river owners (Riparian), guided by biologist and salmon expert Bob Kindness, set about trying to restore the population by implementing a mindful stocking programme using native broodstock and together, have formed the River Carron Conservation Association (RCCA). 

The salmon population has revived, catches increasing from a five-year average of 10.6 in 2001 to 187.2 in 2020, according to Marine Scotland Science, the scientific Division of the Marine Scotland Directorate. Sceptics have questioned whether the revival could have happened without the stocking programme and it has always been the ambition of the owners to test the science behind their activities.  Kindness has been collecting samples for DNA analysis from catches on the river for a decade by clipping a small piece from each salmon’s tail fin. The Rivers and Lochs Institute (RLI) at Inverness College, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) have now analysed the DNA from three years of salmon catches. The results were then compared with DNA from the salmon broodstock used in the stocking programme to find out whether the stocked juvenile fish were surviving to return as adults.

In a ground-breaking report (1) released today, the UHI research has demonstrated that this type of stocking can not only contribute significantly to the fishery but can be done in a way that is sympathetic to the natural ecosystem while avoiding risks to the health and genetic integrity of the rivers’ wild salmon population. This contradicts the view that the risks to wild salmon populations will always outweigh the benefits.  

The Riparian owners of the Carron want to build on this success. The findings of the report make clear that continued analysis will provide essential further insight as Bob Kindness confirms “Knowing now that the DNA analysis can tell us so much more about the effects of stocking, the next stage of the project is for UHI to analyse the data from a much larger number of samples of DNA which we hold.  This will be an expensive undertaking and we need help to fund the RLI to do that work.  We are pretty confident that there are enough salmon enthusiasts and river owners interested in the conservation of Atlantic salmon to raise the funds to do this.  We are so lucky to have a University right on our doorstep to help us with this work and together we can lead the way in developing the science to help fight the decline of Atlantic salmon. “ 

In addition to the stocking programme, the Riparian owners of the Carron have worked to improve the biodiversity of the glen through which the river runs. Some 370,000 trees have been planted on the Glencarron Estate alone.  “We now have a biodiversity corridor of native trees which runs the full length of the river.  This should, in time, slow flood run off and give the fish a better chance to breed successfully.” said Shaun Macdonald, chair of the RCCA.

In addition, with further analysis, the report will provide key information on which stocking method proved most successful for the River Carron. Thanks to Kindness’ extensive research the data analysed by UHI can help determine the best age and location for stocking salmon. This groundbreaking research will help inform conservation efforts in the future.

With over 71% of West Coast rivers and 84% of Scottish Rivers meeting Marine Scotland’s Grade 3 status requiring mandatory catch and release (all fish caught have to be returned to the river) the Riparian owners of the River Carron have brought together experts, scientists and river enthusiasts to ensure the Carron thrives for many generations to come.

(1) River Carron Catchment Scale Restoration Programme Phase IIa: Assessment of the Proportion of Offspring from the 2014 Carron Atlantic Salmon Broodstock among Smolts and Returning Adults.