Salmon fishery statistics - 2015 season

Catch and Effort Reported by Scottish Salmon Fisheries in 2015

The rod and line fishery

A total of 8,996 wild salmon and grilse was reported caught and retained in the rod and line fishery. A further 45,973 wild salmon and grilse were reported caught and released. The combined retained and released rod catch is 54,969, which is 69% of the previous 5-year average. We have no time series of fishing effort information associated with the rod and line fishery.

Annual rod catch generally increased over the period 1952 to 2010. The reported catch dropped in each subsequent year until in 2014, it was the second lowest on record. Reported rod catch recovered slightly in 2015 (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Rod and Line Fishery.

Trends in total rod catch vary among individual stock components ( Figure 2). Spring salmon catch (for the purposes of this report defined as multi sea-winter fish taken before 1 May) shows a general decline since records began. Although there is some indication that spring salmon catch has stabilised in recent years, it remains at a historically low level. Overall catch of salmon and grilse in later months generally increased up to 2010, after which it has fallen sharply only to recover slightly in 2015.

Figure 2 Trends in Stock Components, Rod and Line Fishery.

Catch and release

The proportion of the rod catch accounted for by catch and release has generally increased since 1994, when such information was first recorded.

In 2015, 84% of the annual rod catch was released compared to less than 8% in 1994. Similarly, less than 1% of rod caught spring salmon were released in 1994 while 98% were released in 2015 ( Figure 3). A proportion of fish released from the rod fishery may be re-caught and hence inflate the catch statistics by appearing in the reported data more than once.

Figure 3 Catch and Release, Rod and Line Fishery.

The net fisheries

A total of 10,349 wild salmon and grilse was reported caught and retained in the fixed engine fishery, and the national index of netting effort was 127 trap months. A total of 3,234 wild salmon and grilse was reported caught and retained in the net & coble fishery from a reported effort of 57 crew months.

Reported catch and effort have declined in both net fisheries over much of the period covered by our records and remain at historically low levels (Figures 4 & 5). In 2015, fishing effort in the fixed engine and net & coble fisheries was the lowest and second lowest, respectively, since records began in 1952. Reported catch in each fishery was 4% and 1% of the maximum reported in the respective time series.

Figure 4 Fixed Engine Fishery.

Figure 5 Net and Coble Fishery.

The catch by fishing method

In 2015, 80% of the total annual reported catch was accounted for by the rod fisheries. Fixed engine and net & coble fisheries comprised 15% and 5% respectively. Restricting the analysis to the retained catch, the rods accounted for 40% of the catch compared to 46% and 14% for the fixed engine and net & coble fisheries.

Similarly for spring salmon in 2015, rod fisheries accounted for 98% of the overall reported catch while fixed engine fisheries comprised the remaining 2%. Restricting the analysis to the retained catch, the rods accounted for 49% with the fixed engine fisheries accounting for 51%.

Farmed salmon and grilse

A total of 54 fish of farmed origin was reported caught by all methods in 2015. Fish of farmed origin represented 0.1% of the total number of salmon and grilse caught. The distribution of farmed origin fish was highly uneven, the regions in the north and west coast mainland accounting for 94% of reports. Scottish regions are shown in MS Topic Sheet 67 ( http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/science/Publications/TopicSheets/tslist ).

Downloads

Topic sheet no. 67 explains how we collect the catch statistics.

Topic sheet no. 69 summarises the sea trout fishery statistics for the 2015 fishing season.

Both topic sheets are available for download at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Publications/TopicSheets/tslist

Summary data for fishing seasons 1952 to 2015 are available for download at

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/science/Publications/stats/SalmonSeaTroutCatches

These data are provided as the most complete at the time of publication. Our records are amended when further information becomes available and updated annually in April when the statistics for the most recent fishing season are published.

Contact

If you have a specific request for Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery information, please contact us directly at ms.catchform@gov.scot

Phone: 01674 677070
Fax: 01674 672604