Aquatic

Wild Atlantic Salmon: Migration Welfare and Decline

Wild Atlantic salmon face extraordinary welfare challenges throughout their anadromous life cycle, from river pollution to oceanic predation and climate change.

Key Facts

Wild Atlantic salmon must navigate hundreds of kilometres of river to spawning grounds
Water temperatures above 20C cause heat stress and increased disease susceptibility during upstream migration
Weirs and dams block migration routes in many UK catchments
Sea lice from salmon farms affect wild salmon passing near cage sites
UK wild salmon catch has declined by over 70% since the 1980s

Welfare Considerations

Salmon blocked from spawning grounds by barriers, exhausted by warm water, or weakened by disease face physiological stress and reproductive failure. The welfare of individual wild salmon is inseparable from the health of river ecosystems. River restoration, temperature management through riparian shade planting, and barrier removal are priority interventions for wild salmon welfare.

What You Can Do

Support river restoration and barrier removal projects through Atlantic Salmon Trust
Advocate for riparian buffer strips and shade planting in salmon catchments
Choose sustainably sourced salmon to reduce pressure on wild populations
Report pollution incidents affecting salmon rivers to the Environment Agency
Support research into climate adaptation for wild Atlantic salmon populations