Scotland’s salmon and sea trout statistics published today
Fisheries Management Scotland urge Scottish Ministers to act now to save our salmon.
Today, Wednesday 26th May, saw the release of the official Scottish Government 2020 catch statistics for salmon and sea trout. This confirms that the reported rod catch of salmon (45,366) is the third lowest since records began, and 92% of the previous 5-year average. Total reported rod catch of sea trout (13,313) is the lowest since records began. These figures relate to a period in which all rivers were closed to angling due to the COVID19 public health crisis.
“It is difficult to draw firm conclusions from the 2020 catch statistics due to the spring lockdown and subsequent travel restrictions which had a significant impact on angling effort. Whilst many rivers recorded good catches in the circumstances, it is clear that the number of salmon and sea trout returning to Scottish waters remains of significant concern. ”
Despite the challenges posed by COVID19, Scotland’s District Salmon Fishery Boards, and Rivers and Fisheries Trusts continue to work hard to protect Scotland’s iconic salmon and sea trout populations. Before the Scottish Parliamentary elections Fisheries Management Scotland challenged candidates from all major parties to commit to urgent action to save the species and protect whole river systems from the growing impacts of climate change. This commitment included three vital measures:
• Make saving Scotland’s salmon a national conservation priority.
• Fund the planting of native trees beside those rivers which Marine Scotland Science has identified as vulnerable to damaging temperature rises.
• Implement in full the unanimous recommendations of the Salmon Interactions Working Group, which was established by the Scottish Government, comprising wild salmon conservation bodies and the fish farming industry. “It is now time for the Scottish Government and Agencies to get behind fisheries managers and do everything in their power to safeguard the species in those areas where they can make a difference.”
Summary of the salmon fishery catch statistics for the 2020 season
Summary of the sea trout fishery statistics for the 2020 season
As an Alliance of five organisations, we will build on the existing work of our partners and maximise our impact by taking a coordinated approach and vital action in order to halt and reverse the decline of wild Atlantic salmon.
The goal of the Missing Salmon Alliance is to build an evidence-base to influence national and international decision-makers to regulate activities that adversely impact wild Atlantic salmon.
The Missing Salmon Alliance
The MSA is comprised of the following members:
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Angling Trust with Fish Legal, The Rivers Trust and Fisheries Management Scotland.
https://www.missingsalmonalliance.org