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In the days when Scotland’s rivers were teeming with salmon, a crafty poacher taking ‘one for the pot’ may have seemed harmless.
But with numbers dwindling to record lows, poaching has become a major threat to the future of the country’s most iconic fish.
Last week, in a bid to stamp out poaching for good, draconian new penalties were passed at Holyrood – and anyone caught illegally catching salmon now faces a £10,000 fine for every single fish.
And it’s not just the poachers who can end up in trouble.
The move also targets any amateur cooks and restaurant owners who might be tempted to snap up a no-questions-asked fish – with a fine of up to £40,000 just for being in possession of illegally caught or poached salmon.
Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, said: ‘Fish poaching is a serious wildlife crime. An amendment was made to The Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill containing provisions to increase penalties for the most serious and damaging wildlife crimes involving fish.
‘Wild salmon populations are at crisis point. We are working to ensure the protection and recovery of this iconic species.’
Although Scotland’s salmon rivers are famed around the world, in almost three-quarters of them numbers are so low that a mandatory catch and release policy is in place, making it illegal for fishermen to remove any fish they catch under threat of a fine or criminal conviction.
Anyone caught illegally catching salmon now faces a £10,000 fine for every single fish
Poaching has become a major threat to the future of the country’s most iconic fish
Scotland's salmon rivers are world famous, but numbers are so low that a mandatory catch and release policy is now in place
The new penalties were introduced on the recommendation of Fisheries Management Scotland, which represents the country’s river and fishery managers.
The group’s Enforcement Committee recently published a report highlighting how illegal fishing and poaching threaten already fragile populations.
Catches of wild Atlantic salmon, it said, are at their lowest levels since records began in 1952, with populations in Scotland now in a ‘critical state’.
With Atlantic salmon now classified as ‘endangered’ in the UK, the report said: ‘It is therefore clear that illegal exploitation, of any sort, is unsustainable. Given the critical state of Scotland’s salmon populations, we believe that there is sound justification for enhancing the penalty regime.
‘A mature female salmon will carry an average of 4,000-6,000 eggs and this highlights the impact that the removal of even a single fish through such criminal activity will have.’
Under the new laws, illegal salmon fishing now carries a ‘statutory maximum’ fine, which is £10,000 for summary offences prosecuted in the sheriff court.
For the first time, every illegal fish is counted as a separate offence. The new law states: ‘The person who committed the offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine in respect of each salmon.’
Meanwhile, ‘possessing salmon which have been illegally taken, killed or landed’ can now incur a fine of up to £40,000.
Detective Sergeant David Lynn, Police Scotland’s Wildlife Crime Coordinator, said: ‘Poaching is the highest volume wildlife crime in Scotland. It’s crucial that offenders are brought to justice.
‘I would encourage the public to report suspicious behaviour around rivers and lochs.’