PINK SALMON FISHING IN SCOTLAND

Pink salmon fishing in Scotland. Fisheries Management Scotland have produced an advisory note regarding Pacific pink salmon which may make a return to Scottish waters this year.

In Scotland under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Pink salmon of the species Oncorhynchus gorbuscha are an invasive non-native species. The 1981 Act makes it an offence to fish for and retain Pink salmon (i.e. have one in your possession or under your control).

However, if a pink salmon is caught accidentally whilst fishing legally for other species, although it is technically an offence, a defence of due diligence may be established if it can be shown that best practice was followed.

The Pacific pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) is native to Pacific and Arctic coastal waters and rivers, from the Sacramento River in northern California to the Mackenzie River in Canada; and in the west from the Lena River in Siberia to Korea and Honshu in Japan. They were introduced to some Russian rivers in the Barent and White Sea areas between the 1960s and 1990s. They have slowly spread westwards and have now colonised some northern Norwegian rivers where self-sustaining populations have now established. Small numbers of pink salmon have turned up in UK rivers for several decades.

Please see the advisory note to learn what should be done if you capture a pink salmon at Fisheries Management Scotland

Further information regarding the appearance of pink salmon in 2017 can be found here