Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics 2024

Sea trout net fishery

The haaf net fishery in the Solway Firth reported 119 sea trout caught and retained, and 5 caught and released from a reported effort of 78 net months. Effort data from haaf net fisheries is omitted from the national fixed engine effort as it cannot easily be combined with that from other gear types.

Excluding the Solway Firth fishery, fixed engine fisheries reported 64 sea trout caught and retained, from a reported effort of 4 trap months. No caught and released sea trout were reported from fixed engine fisheries outwith the Solway Firth.

From a total reported effort of 24.5 crew months, 328 sea trout were reported caught and retained in the net and coble fishery, and 62 caught and released.

No finnock were reported caught by the net fisheries.

Reported catch and effort in both net fisheries have declined over much of the period covered by our records and remain at low levels (Chart 6a and 6b, and 7a and 7b).

Chart 6a: Fixed engine fishery catch of sea trout has decreased since its peak in 1964

Annual number of sea trout reported caught and retained by the fixed engine fishery (thousands).

Data source: 2024 Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 9, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.

Chart 6b: Fixed engine fishery effort has decreased since records began

Annual reported fixed engine fishery effort as trap months (thousands).

Data source: 2024 Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 9, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.

Chart 7a: Net and coble fishery sea trout catch has decreased since its peak in 1967

Annual number of sea trout reported caught and retained by the net and coble fishery (thousands).

Data source: 2024 Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 10, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.

Chart 7b: Net and coble fishery effort has decreased since peaking in 1959

Annual reported net and coble fishery effort as crew months (thousands).

Data source: 2024 Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 10, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.