Salmon fishing: proposed river gradings for 2023 season

Views on proposed river grading for the 2023 salmon fishing season are being sought by The Scottish Government. They are also seeking views on achieving higher catch and release and associated post-catch survival rates.

Each year an assessment of the conservation status of salmon in inland waters in Scotland is carried out and each river or assessment group is assigned a grading depending on the outcome of that assessment.  

The assessment for the 2023 season has followed the methodology developed in previous years. No new rivers or groups have been added for this year’s assessment. 

While the methodology has not changed for the 2023 season, the assessment has been made using the most up to date data available from fish counters and catch returns from the 2021 fishing season. Both the 2020 and 2021 fishing seasons were affected by the restrictions imposed by the pandemic which inevitably led to a reduction in “rod-effort” and the numbers of fish caught. 

You can submit your views until 9 September 2022.

Find out more at the link including a summary of the changes: Salmon fishing: proposed river grading for 2023 season