Hundreds of Atlantic salmon caught in Scottish waters will be tagged and released as part of a new study aimed at increasing the understanding of the routes they take and the conservation measures needed to protect them.
Launching in July and running for up to 15 weeks, the Scottish government research project will see salmon caught and acoustically tagged off the north coast of the country with a network of receivers deployed to detect where those fish then go. The study will look to find out how coastal fisheries link to different rivers, as well as increasing the understanding of salmon homing behavior and breeding spots.
“We know Atlantic salmon can migrate thousands of miles from home rivers to high seas feeding grounds and back to spawn. Exactly how they find their home river again remains a mystery,” said Roseanna Cunningham, Scotland’s environment secretary. “While a number of historic tagging studies have shown that fish captured in coastal nets at one location have then been recaptured in nets much further around the coast, our knowledge of how they came to that point is still very limited. This new study will look to provide us with further insight into this iconic species’ behavior which will help to determine whether we are striking the right balance between conservation and the interests of those who fish for salmon and what further action might be needed to protect stocks for future generations."
The involvement of local fisheries managers has resulted in more than 60 acoustic receivers being deployed in around 26 Scottish rivers. They will also help to facilitate more detailed surveys of rivers in the autumn, said Alan Wells, chief executive of Fisheries Management Scotland.
“We are encouraging all anglers in Scotland to be on the lookout for tagged Atlantic salmon. By removing these externally placed acoustic tags and returning them to Marine Scotland, anglers can play a crucial part in increasing our understanding of the coastal movements of salmon. Increasing our knowledge of how salmon come back to Scotland will help us to manage this fragile resource,” he said.
