Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics 2024

Sea trout rod fishery

Of the 13,876 sea trout reported caught in the rod fishery, 13,080 were subsequently released and 796 were retained. Total rod catch of sea trout has declined over much of the period since 1952, when records began. The 2024 total is 93% of the previous five-year average and the fourth lowest on record.

Finnock catch is recorded separately and not included in the sea trout data. In the rod fishery, there were 7,153 reported as caught and released and 176 reported as caught and retained. The combined total (7,329) is 102% of the previous five-year average and 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 (thousands).

Data source: 2024 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 2024, the highest percentage was recorded for sea trout (94%) and 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 1994-2024 time period.

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

Data source: 2024 Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics, Supplementary Tables, Table 7, from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.