NRW Assessment of salmon stocks in England and Wales in 2025

The NRW report presents the 2025 assessment of salmon stocks in England and Wales. It contains information on fishing activity in commercial and recreational salmon fisheries, exploitation rates, stock estimates, and stock status assessments.

The report also outlines current fishery regulations and highlights the key existing and emerging threats affecting salmon populations.

Key findings

• The total declared salmon catch by nets and fixed engines in 2025 was 256 fish (1.1 tonnes). Compared with 2024, catch numbers and catch weight declined by 37% and 32%, respectively. Relative to the 2020 to 2024 average, they were 59% and 58% lower, respectively. All net caught salmon were released alive.

• The total declared rod catch in 2025 was 4,053 salmon (17.0 tonnes), the lowest recorded since 1988. Catch numbers and catch weight declined by 33% and 32%, respectively, compared with 2024, and were 42% and 43% lower, respectively, than the 2020 to 2024 average. The declared salmon catch retained by rods in 2025 was 76 fish (0.3 tonnes). Consequently, 3,977 salmon (98% of the catch) were released across England and Wales, the highest percentage on record.

• Returning stock estimates and counts for 6 of the 11 rivers (55%) with validated fish counters or traps in 2025 were higher than in 2024, while the remaining five rivers recorded declines. Increases were estimated on six rivers (Test, Itchen, Tamar, Fowey, Taff, and Dee), whereas decreases were estimated on five rivers (Tyne, Tees, Hampshire Avon, Frome and Teifi). Estimated returns were the lowest in the time series for four rivers (Tyne, Hampshire Avon, Frome, and Teifi). Overall, returns to most monitored rivers have declined markedly over the last decade, particularly in South West England and Wales.

• Egg deposition levels in 2025 were estimated to be above the Conservation Limit (CL) in only 2 of the 64 Principal Salmon Rivers in England and Wales (3%), which is the lowest since 1993.

The formal compliance assessment classified one river (2%) as ‘not at risk’, two (3%) as ‘probably not at risk’, two (3%) as ‘probably at risk’, and 59 (92%) as ‘at risk’. The percentage of rivers in the ‘at risk’ category was the highest in the time-series that started in 2011.

These results indicate that most salmon stocks in England and Wales are in a depleted state, with limited prospects for recovery in the near future.

Foreword

Annual reports on the status of salmon stocks in England and Wales have been produced since 1997. Provisional data for the most recent year provided to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for the purpose of contributing to international stock assessments and the development of scientific advice to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) are published on the Cefas Data Portal (Cefas, Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, and Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust 2026a). Once confirmed, the final data for the most recent year are included in this report and the annual compilation of salmonid and freshwater catch statistics published by the Environment Agency (Environment Agency 2026). From 1997 to 2012, the annual reports were prepared by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Environment Agency. However, from 1 April 2013, the functions of the Environment Agency in Wales were transferred to Natural Resources Wales/Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru. This body is now responsible for salmon management and regulation in Wales.

All three organisations have therefore contributed to production of the annual assessment reports since 2013. Until 2013, each annual assessment report was designed to stand alone to avoid the need to refer to previous reports for background information.

However, this resulted in much of the descriptive text being very similar from year to year. From 2014, therefore, and in the interest of streamlining procedures, the report has been split into two separate documents. A background report provides the regulatory framework, describes the methods and approaches used in the assessment process, and includes a glossary of terms (Cefas, Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales 2025).

This background report is updated every five years. In contrast, this annual assessment report provides a relatively short description of developments in the most recent year together with updated figures. The data underlying the figures presented in this report are published in tabulated form on the Cefas Data Portal (Cefas, Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, and Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust 2026b) or the Environment Agency’s annual compilation of salmonid and freshwater catch statistics (Environment Agency 2026).

Both the annual salmon stock assessment and background reports are available online on the Gov.UK website.