The Government has not offered any advice to the Royal Household regarding animal welfare concerns and salmon farming.

Farmed salmon is a key UK food export, and the sector provides vital support to many remote or fragile communities, particularly in Scotland, where its production is concentrated. While aquaculture policy is a devolved matter, the UK Government regularly raises in a variety of international fisheries forums the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of farmed fish.

We have no plans to encourage the public to eat more wild fish as an alternative to farmed salmon. Both wild caught and farmed seafood have an important role to play in providing a sustainable and healthy source of protein. Farmed salmon, in particular, is an important source of oily fish, with the NHS recommending that adults eat at least two portions of fish per week, including one portion of oily fish.

The Government supports sustainable, industry led, growth in aquaculture. To ensure sustainability, aquaculture operations must comply with extensive land use, environmental, animal health and welfare and veterinary medicines regulations. The proposal for an onshore salmon farm in Cleethorpes will be considered by the relevant regulators, as and when the relevant permissions are sought.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates primarily to England.

Defra is working internationally to protect salmon populations through participation in the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO). A full list of actions related to salmon conservation can be found in the England and Wales NASCO “Implementation Plan”, along with annual progress updates, which can be found at https://nasco.int/conservation/third-reporting-cycle-2/.

The Environment Agency, responsible for managing salmon fisheries in England, ensured that 95% of salmon catches in 2023 were released alive through a combination of voluntary and mandatory measures. Between 2019 and 2023, they mitigated 58 barriers to fish passage on England’s salmon rivers. The Environment Agency is re-assessing the key pressures on salmon, in England, ahead of producing a new salmon Action Plan.

Cleaning up the water environment is a key priority for Defra. In October, the Government launched an Independent Commission of the water sector regulatory system. The Commission will report back this year with recommendations.

Fish and fishery products farmed for consumption in the UK must meet the requirements of food hygiene and contaminants and residues legislation. Responsibility for verifying food business operators comply with the legislation is delegated to Local Authorities who carry out official controls. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate’s National Statutory Surveillance plan monitors residues of veterinary medicines, prohibited substances, and various contaminants in products of animal origin, including farmed salmon. The Food Standards Agency is not aware of any evidence to indicate that fish farmed in the UK are unsafe to eat.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only.

Salmon populations in England’s rivers are generally declining, with many detrimental factors suppressing recovery. Defra is a member of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation, working with international counterparts to conserve and restore Atlantic salmon, including measures to mitigate avian predation.

All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, including avian predators, regardless of their population or conservation status.

The Government does not aim to limit or reduce the population of any native wild bird. If evidence shows that species such as cormorant, heron or goosander are having a serious impact on fisheries or salmon, a licence can be issued.

Natural England (NE) sets evidence-based limits on the number of cormorants licensed to be killed each year to prevent irreversibly affecting their conservation status. Scarecer breeding species, including goosander, are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Licences issued by NE target specific locations when migrating salmon are most vulnerable, like during the smolt run, to improve the effect of protecting fisheries.

The Environment Agency funds two fisheries management advisors within the Angling Trust who provide bespoke advice to fisheries seeking predator control licences.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The answer to Question HL1183 sets out the Government’s approach to managing bird predation on wild Atlantic salmon.

The Environment Agency (EA) manages salmon and sea trout fisheries in England. In 2018 national byelaws effectively closed the remaining salmon net fisheries and adjusted the seasons for the remaining sea trout net fisheries. In 2023, 95% and 89% of recreational salmon and sea trout catches respectively were released, alive. This has been achieved through a combination of voluntary or mandatory measures. Where necessary, the EA has introduced river specific regulatory measures to better protect sea trout, including size restrictions and bag limits.

The EA also works with partner organisations to address other pressures facing salmon and sea trout, such as barriers to fish passage. A full list of actions related to salmon can be found in the England and Wales “Implementation Plan” (copy attached) to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), along with annual progress updates available on NASCO’s website. The EA is currently re-assessing the key pressures on salmon, in England, ahead of producing a new implementation plan in 2025/26.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. A specific national assessment on excluding cattle from the catchment areas of salmon spawning streams has not been undertaken because the potential impacts of cattle on salmon spawning streams are well documented.

Good progress continues to be made on the Five Point Approach to Salmon and the Environment Agency will be reporting on progress this autumn.

Priority is currently directed towards an informal byelaw consultation, which will commence in April and will focus on all salmon rod and net fisheries in England. The Environment Agency wishes to fully understand the consequences of all the options which will be proposed in the informal consultation to evaluate their effectiveness to individual river salmon stocks. The Environment Agency will consider the responses over the summer with a view to advertising any new byelaws in October 2017.

Interested fisheries representatives will be able to respond to this consultation process. The outcomes of the informal consultation and progress on the other four work streams of the Five Point Approach will be covered in the autumn progress report.

Annex 1 of the ‘Salmon Five Point Approach – restoring salmon in England’ sets out a series of commitments and delivery timescales.

All of the multi-agency groups report internally to the Environment Agency as agreed in their individual project plans. In addition, at the end of this year, the Environment Agency plans to produce an update on the total progress made on the Five Point Approach.

Good progress is being made on the Five Point Approach to Salmon. The Environment Agency has had a programme team in place since May 2016 and each of the five points has a multi organisation working group to deliver the actions. The England Fisheries Group is providing a strategic steer to the programme.