Fisheries

An ambitious strategy which aims to bring the wild salmon population in Scotland back from crisis point has been launched.

Atlantic salmon is an iconic species featuring highly among the wildlife readily associated with Scotland at home and abroad.

Salmon are affected by a wide range of pressures, some at sea, but many others acting within the Scottish freshwater and coastal environments. A key contributory factor appears to be climate change.

Seafood Scotland has launched an innovation programme to stimulate new seafood tourism initiatives.

The pilot will see the trade body work with organisations to explore and support business diversification and to establish new tourism opportunities for the Scottish seafood industry.

Scottish Government scientists, collaborating with a Spanish university, have uncovered a new family and species of deepwater soft coral, from seas to the west of Scotland.

Better recycling of fishing equipment and changing what we flush down the toilet could help cut the amount of litter in Scotland’s waters.

These proposals are included in a consultation on an updated Marine Litter Strategy, which aims to prevent litter reaching our seas and shores, remove rubbish from the marine environment, and strengthen monitoring.

Last week the Scottish Government announced details of its budget programme for 2022-23 which underlines their commitment to rural and island communities and businesses.

Scotland’s budget underlines the Scottish Government’s commitment to rural and island communities and businesses.

The 2022-23 budget will see more than £650 million in ongoing support across the rural economy in agriculture, fishing, and seafood.

The site, within the Inner Sound of Skye, protects a nationally important flapper skate egg nursery area which is the largest of its kind to be identified in Scotland.

The latest round of funding awards from Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) has seen fishing businesses and marine organisations in coastal communities receive more than £3 million.

Funding of more than £650,000 will extend the salmon counter network as part of a package of measures to support salmon conservation.

The expanded network will provide valuable information to monitor salmon populations and inform their population status.