Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics 2022

Sea Trout Rod Fishery

Of the 14,509 sea trout reported caught in the rod fishery, 13,137 were subsequently released and 1,372 were retained. Total rod catch of sea trout has declined over much of the period since 1952, when our records began. The 2022 total rod catch is the fourth lowest on record and 95% 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, 8,069 finnock were reported as caught and released, and 133 were reported as caught and retained. The combined total, of 8,202, is 110% of the previous five-year average and the 10th highest annual catch in the 19 years since our records began in 2004 (Chart 4).

Data source: 2022 Scottish salmon and sea trout statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 7, from Marine Scotland.

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), and in 2022 was the highest percentage recorded for sea trout and finnock. The percentage released was 91% of sea trout and 98% of finnock caught. 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.

Data source: 2022 Scottish salmon and sea trout statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 7, from Marine Scotland.