In light of the draft recommendations in the wild fishing review, what research it is conducting on the potential benefits of releasing sal…

The Scottish Government is in the process of publishing a review of the performance of hatchery-reared salmon smolts (the stage at which the fish are changing from the freshwater to marine form) stocked in to Scottish waters (often termed ‘salmon ranching’). The percentage of ranched smolts that return as adults is much lower than would be expected from salmon reared naturally in the wild. The report concludes that it is not clear that smolt ranching is an economically viable proposition. The report also notes that the practice of ranching carries potential threats to native populations of Atlantic salmon that would need to be balanced against any potential economic benefits.

Stocking of salmon smolts has been undertaken in a number of rivers over the years, although there are few examples of extant long term programmes. The Scottish Government did not receive any applications to stock salmon smolts in 2014, although such consents may have been approved by local district salmon fishery boards. The River Carron is often used as an example of benefits of stocking smolts, however a number of different life stages of salmon have been stocked in the river since 1995 and smolt stocking ceasing in 2011. A recent review by the University of Highlands and Islands concluded that it was not possible to determine whether stocking of salmon played a role in the increasing rod catch within the River Carron.