Royal Deeside river study sparks new hope for saving Scotland’s wild salmon

Atlantic salmon have long been identified as a threatened species, with numbers having crashed over the past few decades.

Scottish rivers are home to around 90 per cent of the UK population of the species, but dramaticdeclineshavepromptedfearsthattheiconicfishcould end up on the endangered list in the next 10 years – and even vanish entirely.

Now researchers at the University of Aberdeen say insights gained from a long-running monitoring programme based near King Charles III’S Scottish hideaways could help provide solutions that will halt their demise.

It’s hoped results gathered by fish traps installed in 1966 at Girnock Burn on the River Dee – sandwiched between the royal estates of Birkhall and Balmoral and within the Cairngorms National Park – will provide deeper understanding of the complex lifecycle of salmon and clues to why survival rates are falling.

New analysis of the data, which has been summarised and published in the journal Hydrological Processes, has revealed “quantitativechanges” in the numbers of adult salmon returning to the river to breed, the placeswheretheyarefound and their size, growth and age.

Professor Chris Soulsby, of the University of Aberdeen,

has been involved in the Girnock study for more than 30 years.

He says the information provides “vital science” that shows how rising temperatures have been affecting salmon and can help guide restoration efforts.

“This 60-year dataset provides a detailed understanding of how salmon populations and their habitat use has changed as the climate has warmed,” he said.

“Unfortunately this shows an alarming decline in the number of salmon returning from thesea,whichisconsistentwith the declining angling catches observed on many Scottish rivers.

“However, from this we can start to build a scientific picture of what management responses to protect fish are likely to be successful.”

Professor Doerthe Tetzlaff, ofthe IGB, said: “This review paper is the first synthesis of 60 yearsofresearchatthisinternationally important site