Wildlife Crime in Scotland 2022
Publication giving statistics on wildlife crime in Scotland.
Freshwater pearl mussels
Scotland supports several of the largest remaining populations of freshwater pearl mussels (FWPM) in the world some of which continue to be damaged by criminal activity. Pearl fishing continues in Scotland, almost uniquely within Europe. FWPM are also threatened by unlawful river engineering and pollution.
Recorded crimes
Figure 18: Two offences concerning freshwater pearl mussels were recorded in 2021-22, in line with recent years.
Freshwater Pearl Mussels offences recorded by Police Scotland 2017-18 to 2021-22
As shown in Figure 18, there were two recorded offences in relation to FWPM during 2021-22, which concerned the taking of freshwater pearl mussels. Both were located in the Highlands and Islands police division. This is in line with the level in recent years (5-year average of 1-2 offences).
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