Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 published
The Scottish government has published their draft strategy for biodiversity, which sets out ambitions for Scotland to be Nature Positive by 2030 and to have restored and regenerated biodiversity across the country by 2045.
Key Missing Salmon Alliance member, Fisheries Management Scotland, contributed to the development of the strategy, and continue to press for greater emphasis on the protection of vital freshwater habitats, to support biodiversity, including wild salmon .
Atlantic salmon are a key indicator species of the health of habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity across the UK. They are recognised as a 'vulnerable and important species' that needs protecting.
This Strategy contains 26 of the most urgent Priority Actions which will put us on track for halting the loss of biodiversity and being Nature Positive by 2030, including an action to “Implement measures to protect and recover Scotland’s wild Atlantic salmon and migratory fish populations”. The Wild Salmon Strategy, which Fisheries Management Scotland and the Atlantic Salmon Trust are also contributing to, will be an important route for achieving this action.
The document also includes an excellent case study of landscape scale catchment restoration by the River Dee Trust and the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board, supported by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, who have been working with land managers to re-naturalise one of the major upland tributaries of the River Dee, the Muick.
A Strategic Delivery Framework will be put in place to ensure that the ambitious Vision, Outcomes and Priority Actions are successfully delivered and to provide the enabling conditions for success.
The Vision is:
· By 2045, Scotland will have restored and regenerated biodiversity across our land, freshwater and seas.
· The natural environment, our habitats, ecosystems and species, will be diverse, thriving, resilient and adapting to climate change.
· Regenerated biodiversity will drive a sustainable economy and support thriving communities, and people will play their part in the stewardship of nature for future generations
The draft strategy can be found here. A final publication will be published in spring 2023 alongside a consultation on a draft implementation plan.
As an Alliance of six organisations, we will build on the existing work of our partners and maximise our impact by taking a coordinated approach and vital action in order to halt and reverse the decline of wild Atlantic salmon.
The goal of the Missing Salmon Alliance is to build an evidence-base to influence national and international decision-makers to regulate activities that adversely impact wild Atlantic salmon.
The Missing Salmon Alliance
The MSA is comprised of the following members:
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Angling Trust with Fish Legal, The Rivers Trust and Fisheries Management Scotland.
https://www.missingsalmonalliance.org