The Fisheries Management Scotland Conference – Salmon and people in a changing world – was held in Edinburgh on March 29. The Conference, attended by a diverse range of over 160 delegates, marked the International Year of the Salmon, and focussed on a range of pressures and challenges faced by our iconic Atlantic salmon.
Working with partners in the Missing Salmon Project, the conference was based around specific workshops which considered salmon farming; renewable energy; high seas pressures; predation; and examined a range of management approaches to help to address and mitigate these pressures.
Dr Alan Wells, Chief Executive of Fisheries Management Scotland said: “We wanted to mark the International Year of the Salmon by using our conference to highlight the range of pressures that Atlantic salmon face across their natural range. Environmental change and human impacts across the Northern Hemisphere are placing salmon at risk.
“However, it is also important to focus on key actions to address these pressures and prioritise management, drawing on International best practice, and this was a key focus of our conference.
“On behalf of Fisheries Management Scotland, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the conference. We were delighted to welcome 24 speakers from across the North Atlantic, which provided an extremely valuable international flavour to the event.”
The Conference also marked the launch of the 2019 Fisheries Management Scotland Annual Review. The review features articles on a range of projects undertaken by the District Salmon Fishery Boards and Rivers and Fisheries Trusts, the International Year of the Salmon, sampling in West Greenland, fish farming, predation and a conceptual framework to identify and prioritise research and management activities – the likely suspects framework. Catch statistics for the 2018 season, as well as river reports from across Scotland form a substantive element. The Review, sponsored by Gillespie MacAndrew, is now available online and in hard copy.
Notes to Editors:
- Fisheries Management Scotland is the representative body for the district salmon fishery boards (DSFBs) and fisheries trusts in Scotland. Our role is to:
- Promote and ensure the best fisheries management for the protection, preservation and development of Scotland’s wild salmon and freshwater fish, along with their fisheries and environment;
- Represent the interests of our member organisations.
- More information on the Missing Salmon Project and Likely Suspects Framework can be found on the Atlantic Salmon Trust
- The conference programme and speaker biographies are available on the Fisheries Management Scotland website.
- A report of the conference is being compiled and will be published on the Fisheries Management Scotland website in due course.