A Passionate Collective of Conservation Organisations Focused on Salmon
Wild Atlantic Salmon are in Crisis.
Wild Atlantic salmon could be lost from many of our rivers within our lifetime if we don’t act now.
For the first time, a group of conservation focused organisations have come together to drive action and save our wild Atlantic salmon from extinction by combining expertise, coordinating activities and advocating effective management solutions.
Our goal is to help the wild Atlantic salmon survive and thrive in our rivers and seas.
Now is the time to take urgent decisive action to save our wild salmon
The twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss are creating conditions that threaten their very existence in the wild. However, we have time to make a difference if we take decisive action now.
Salmon need free access to cold clean water. The Missing Salmon Alliance’s members and partners are uniquely placed to make a real difference, but if we are to save our wild salmon we need action at significantly more pace and scale. We need to:
protect freshwater habitats by addressing barriers to migration and providing cooling shade from native trees;
improve water quantity and quality, by stopping pollution from agriculture and sewage, tackling over-abstraction and better management of river flows;
reduce losses of salmon in our rivers, coastal waters, and the open ocean, by addressing the impacts of aquaculture, predation, and by-catch.
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The Wild Atlantic Salmon Crisis
The wild Atlantic salmon is in crisis. The number of salmon returning to their spawning grounds has fallen dramatically since the 1970s and wild Atlantic salmon could be lost from many of our rivers within our lifetime if we do not act now. This is not a localised issue. The decline in wild salmon stocks has occurred throughout its natural range although is more pronounced in southern regions.
Since the 1970’s, based on the abundance of adults returning to coastal waters, large salmon have declined by between 54-88% whilst smaller salmon (grilse) have declined between 40-66%.
Atlantic salmon face a number of pressures throughout their lives in freshwater and in the marine environment. Numerous local efforts are under way to identify the causes of mortality. Some point the finger at a changing marine environment, exacerbated by climate change. However, recent studies are providing evidence that many fish are still being lost in freshwater and the coastal zone.
What is the Missing Salmon Alliance?
Saving the wild Atlantic salmon will take a coordinated effort. That is why the three leading salmon conservation organisations - Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Angling Trust with Fish Legal came together to form the Missing Salmon Alliance. They have now been joined by Fisheries Management Scotland and The Rivers Trust. The Missing Salmon Alliance are fighting to reverse the devastating collapse in wild Atlantic salmon. By combining expertise, coordinating activities and advocating effective management solutions we can help wild Atlantic salmon survive and thrive in our rivers and seas for the next generation.
By working together we will
Share information, agree priorities, avoid duplication of effort, present coordinated arguments, and take coordinated action to halt and reverse the decline.
Increase the scale of funding available and make efficient use of resources by being more focused and more accountable.
Regularly review progress and make changes accordingly. The Alliance’s goal is to build an evidence-base to influence national decision-makers to regulate activities that adversely impact wild salmon.
Likely Suspects Framework
In response to these dramatic declines of Atlantic salmon populations, the Missing Salmon Alliance has developed the Likely Suspects Framework. This programme focusses on improving our understanding of what drives the trends in salmon abundance. This understanding will aid in the development of new tools for salmon managers to support their future actions to help stabilise or reverse these salmon declines.
“The very future of a species that has been swimming in our oceans and seas for over 6 million years will be in jeopardy. We simply cannot allow this to happen in our lifetime. Having our four leading salmon conservation organisations working together, through the Missing Salmon Alliance with support from both the private and public sectors is hugely encouraging.”— HRH The Prince of Wales
Taken from video message to the Forum which launched the Missing Salmon Alliance
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