Data from: Accuracy of assignment of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) to rivers and regions in Scotland and northeast England based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers.

Understanding the habitat use patterns of migratory fish, such as Atlantic
salmon (Salmo salar L.), and the natural and anthropogenic impacts on
them, is aided by the ability to identify individuals to their stock of
origin. Presented here are the results of an analysis of informative
single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers for detecting genetic
structuring in Atlantic salmon in Scotland and NE England and their
ability to allow accurate genetic stock identification. 3,787 fish from
147 sites covering 27 rivers were screened at 5,568 SNP markers. In order
to identify a cost-effective subset of SNPs, they were ranked according to
their ability to differentiate between fish from different rivers. A panel
of 288 SNPs was used to examine both individual assignments and mixed
stock fisheries and eighteen assignment units were defined. The results
improved greatly on previously available methods and, for the first time,
fish caught in the marine environment can be confidently assigned to
geographically coherent units within Scotland and NE England, including
individual rivers. As such, this SNP panel has the potential to aid
understanding of the various influences acting upon Atlantic salmon on
their marine migrations, be they natural environmental variations and/or
anthropogenic impacts, such as mixed stock fisheries and interactions with
marine power generation installations.