Salmon Scotland's Wild Fisheries Fund aims to address the widespread concerns over the declining status of wild salmonids in Scottish rivers and lochs.

We recognise that today’s Scottish salmon farming sector enjoys its strong reputation and success partly due to this wild salmonid heritage. It is in all our interests to ensure that the shared connected waters where the salmon farming industry operates are as good an environment for wild salmonids as they should be, and that the healthy pursuit of angling continues to be enjoyed long into the future.

The Salmon Scotland Wild Fisheries Fund has been established to prioritise investment from the salmon farming sector towards effective and practical wild fisheries management, as well as the promotion of local angling opportunities and community involvement. Applications are invited from relevant and constituted fisheries organisations within the shared space of Scottish salmon aquaculture and wild rod fisheries – for example Fishery Boards and Trusts, other constituted management bodies, local angling clubs and other community associations.

How much funding is available?

The fund is a 5-year programme that will see £1.5 million invested by Salmon Scotland to support wild fisheries through both national and grassroots organisations. Already the fund has invested in a wide range of projects including providing major funding to the West Coast Tracking Project, a partnership project made up of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, Fisheries Management Scotland and the Marine Directorate, as well as funding a wide range of local projects addressing habitat issues, wild/farmed interactions and infrastructure improvements.

Salmon Scotland will grant £230,000 of funding to local projects in 2025.

The programme will award funding in 2025 to projects undertaken by local fishery organisations and community bodies.

Applications

The fund will open for applications on 1st February 2025 and close on 31st March 2025. Decisions will be taken by Salmon Scotland by 15th April 2025.

There is no limit to the size of grant that can be applied for, but Salmon Scotland would like to encourage both ambitious and small-scale applications, particularly by those organisations that historically have had limited funding opportunities available to them.

Successful applicants will agree to some media coverage by Salmon Scotland of their project both during the life of the project and upon completion. All applicants will report back on project progress and delivery after one year, which will be included in the Wild Fisheries Fund Annual Report. All projects should be completed within 18 months.

All applicants will report back on project progress and delivery after one year, which will be included in the Wild Fisheries Fund Annual Report. All projects should be completed within 18 months.

The fund is co-ordinated by fishery manager Jon Gibb, who is based in Fort William and has championed a constructive relationship between the farm-raised salmon sector and fisheries and angling groups.

Download the 2025 Application Form here.

Who could apply?

The fund welcomed applications from the following:

  • Local angling clubs and associations (migratory and non-migratory species)
  • District Salmon Fishery Boards and Fishery Trusts
  • Constituted voluntary or community groups
  • Registered charities
  • Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO)
  • Social Enterprises
  • Community Interest Companies (CIC)
  • Not-for-profit organisations

Who received funding in 2024?

  • River Ruel Fish Habitat Improvement Project - £10,000 in 2024 (with matched funds from other partners) - To continue the previously funded work on this important Argyll river to protect the banks and fish habitat at a large catchment scale.

  • Mauchline Burn, River Ayr - Green Engineering Project - £17,026 (with a contribution of £2000 from the Ayr DSFB) - Habitat improvement and protection on an important but degraded spawning tributary of the River Ayr.

  • Carloway River Spawning Gravel Imporvement Project - £6305 - To continue the improvements to the spawning redds on the Carloway River.

  • Fhorsa System Habitat Improvement Project - £10,000 - To improve the habitat on this small but important Hebridean system.

  • River Eachig Fish Habitat Improvement Project - £24,376 (with matched funds from the National Park Authority) - To build on the ongoing and widespread habitat improvement project on the River Eachaig in Argyll.

  • River Bladnoch, Galloway, Mitigation For Acidity - £22,697 - To mitigate against widespread acidity problems in the River Bladnoch catchment using novel techniques.

  • Live Gene Bank Project, Otterferry Seafish, Argyll - £49,404 -To start a live wild salmon gene bank in the Argyll region (Otterferry Seafish) with a trial using fish from the River Ruel.

  • River Carron DNA Stocking Research Analysis - £40,000 - A full-scale analysis of the impact of stocking on the River Carron.
The Fund will open for applications on 1 February 2025 and close on 31 March 2025. (Funding decisions will be made by 15 April 2025.)