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A Stock Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is an array of management measures, possibly including habitat restoration/improvement, exploitation control and stocking, which is designed to restore a salmon stock above its conservation limit.

Many stocks are presently below their conservation limits. While the short-term response to a stock failing to exceed its conservation limit may be to reduce or eliminate exploitation, there will generally be a need to develop a programme to evaluate and address the causes of the stock decline. In more serious situations, there may be a need for a comprehensive programme of research and management, involving a wide range of management actions undertaken by a number of user groups.

A major factor influencing salmon abundance is increased mortality at sea. For some monitored stocks this mortality is now double the level it was in the 1970s, but its causes are unknown. In response, NASCO has established an International Atlantic Salmon Research Board (IASRB) to investigate the causes of the increased mortality of salmon at sea and the opportunities to counteract them. Read more...

NASCO has developed guidelines on the use of stock rebuilding programmes. Read more...

The guidelines provide guidance on the process of establishing a Stock Rebuilding Programme (SRP) and what such a plan might contain. They provide a link between several other guidance documents developed by NASCO in relation to the application of the Precautionary Approach.

There have been some notable successes in rebuilding salmon stocks in recent years. For example, in Norway, a liming programme in 21 acidified Atlantic salmon rivers has resulted in the catch increasing from 5 tonnes prior to liming in the early 1980`s to 40 tonnes in recent years. The catch in limed rivers is expected to be between 75 and 80 tonnes in 2015.