Salmon & sea trout fishery statistics 2025

Sea trout rod fishery

Of the 13,025 sea trout reported caught in the rod fishery, 12,022 were subsequently released and 1,003 were retained. Total rod catch of sea trout has declined over much of the period since 1952, when records began. The 2025 total is 91% of the previous five-year average and the lowest on record.

Finnock catch is recorded separately and not included in the sea trout data. In the rod fishery, there were 6,818 reported as caught and released and 107 reported as caught and retained. The combined total (6,925) is 97% of the previous five-year average and the sixth lowest since records began in 2004 (Chart 4.)

Chart 4: Total sea trout catch has been declining since the mid-1960s, but finnock catch has been generally stable

Annual number of sea trout reported caught by rod fisheries since 1952, and annual number of finnock reported caught by rod fisheries since 2004.

Data source: 2025 Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery 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 2025, the second highest percentage was recorded for sea trout (92%) and the highest percentage for finnock (98%). 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.

Chart 5: The number of sea trout being released showed an increase until its peak in 2010 after which there has been a slight decline. In contrast the percentage of sea trout caught and then released has generally increased throughout the 1994 to 2025 time period.

Annual number of sea trout reported caught and released by the rod fishery, and sea trout reported caught and released as a percentage of the total rod catch.

Data source: 2025 Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 7, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.