Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics 2023

Sea Trout Rod Fishery

Of the 14,823 sea trout reported caught in the rod fishery, 13,651 were subsequently released and 1,172 were retained. Total rod catch of sea trout has declined over much of the period since 1952, when records began. The 2023 total rod catch is the fifth lowest on record and 103% of the previous five-year average (Chart 4).

Finnock catch is recorded separately and not included in the sea trout data. In the rod fishery, there were 5,710 finnock reported as caught and released and 164 reported as caught and retained. The combined total (5,874) is 80% of the previous five-year average, and the second lowest annual catch in the 20 years since records began in 2004 (Chart 4).

Data source: 2023 Scottish salmon and sea trout statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 7, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.

Catch and release

The percentage of the rod catch accounted for by catch and release has generally increased since 1994, when catch and release information was first recorded (Chart 5). In 2023, the highest percentage was recorded for sea trout (92%), and the second highest for finnock (97%). A proportion of the 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.

Data source: 2023 Scottish salmon and sea trout statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 7, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.