The Cairngorms national park has some of Scotland’s wildest rivers. The Spey, Dee and Tay are famous for salmon fishing. The mountain headwaters of these rivers have reliably provided cold, clean water and suitable rearing habitat for Atlantic salmon for thousands of years. These are among the least disturbed, most highly protected rivers in Europe, designated as special areas of conservation for the preservation of salmon and other species.
Paradoxically, these rivers have recently seen unprecedented levels of heavy engineering as part of expensive, publicly funded schemes intended to help salmon conservation in response to climate change. Unfortunately, this probably won’t enhance salmon populations and may do more harm than good. So what is going on?
