Research and analysis

Salmonid and fisheries statistics for England and Wales 2019

Updated 8 April 2021

Applies to England and Wales

This report provides a summary of the declared catches of salmon, sea trout, eels, smelt and lamprey by rods, nets and other fishing instruments for 2019. It covers England, Wales and the Border Esk in Scotland.

See the full Salmonid and freshwater fisheries data tables.

The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales use catch return data to assess and manage salmon and sea trout stocks in a sustainable way.

The catch data represents declared catches for 2019. You should not accept it as a definitive record of the total numbers of fish landed.

1. Status of salmon and sea trout stocks

The 2019 assessment of salmon stocks in England and Wales shows that the status of salmon populations continues to be of concern. The assessment places each river’s salmon stock into 1 of 4 categories with the strongest classed as ‘not at risk’ and the weakest as ‘at risk’.

In England:

• 39 of 42 principal salmon rivers were assessed as being ‘at risk’ or ‘probably at risk’
• none were categorised as ‘not at risk’

In Wales:

• all 22 principal salmon rivers were assessed as being ‘at risk’ or ‘probably at risk’
• none were categorised as ‘not at risk’

State of 64 principal salmon rivers in England and Wales 2019

Salmon rivers in England and Wales are assessed against a management objective. The management objective is the probability of a river’s salmon population exceeding its Conservation Limit in 4 years out of 5. The Conservation Limit is the minimum spawning stock level below which stocks should not be allowed to fall.

Figure 1 – Salmon stock status in England 2019

Figure 2 – Salmon stock status in Wales 2019

Figure 3 – Percentage of principal salmon rivers in each risk category assessed against the management objective, for 2004 to 2019 and as predicted for 2024 for rivers in England

Figure 4 – Percentage of principal salmon rivers in each risk category assessed against the management objective, for 2004 to 2019 and as predicted for 2024 for rivers in Wales

2. Rod and net licence catch returns

The Environment Agency sent a total of 95,860 catch return reminders to salmon and sea trout licence holders. Reminders stated that licence holders must submit their catch returns at the end of the season (by 1 January). This is a requirement even if no fish are caught.

For net catch returns, 95% of logbooks were accounted for in 2019.

The total returns received for the 2019 season was 23,539 (76% of the total licences issued).

The Environment Agency introduced an updated online catch return service in 2018. The number and percentage of paper and online catch returns is shown in table 1.

Table 1 – Number and percentage of paper and online catch returns, 2017, 2018 and 2019

Year	Total returns	Paper returns	Paper (%)	Online returns	Online (%)
2017	20,772	7,182	35%	13,590	65%
2018	20,736	5,239	25%	15,497	75%
2019	23,539	4,974	21%	18,565	79%

3. National overview and summary of main findings

Table 2 – England and Wales summary of declared salmon and sea trout rod catches for in 2019 showing % change on 2018 and the 5-year mean (2014 to 2018)

Rods	2019	2018	5-year mean (2014 to 2018)	% change 2019 on 2018	% change 2019 on 5-year mean
Licences issued*	31,099	31,655	31,887	-2%	-2%
Days declared fished*	125,297	106,085	134,029	18%	-7%
Salmon caught	9,163	7,787	10,799	18%	-15%
Salmon released	8,171	6,857	8,783	19%	-7%
% salmon released	89%	88%	81%	1%	10%
Sea trout caught	21,330	13,608	23,785	57%	-10%
Sea trout released	18,217	11,603	18,647	57%	-2%
% sea trout released	85%	85%	78%	0%	9%

*Salmon and sea trout rod licences only.

Table 3 – Summary of declared salmon and sea trout net catches in England and Wales for 2019 showing % change on 2018 and the 5-year mean (2014 to 2018)

Nets	2019	2018	5-year mean (2014 to 2018)	% change 2019 on 2018	% change 2019 on 5-year mean
Licences issued	154	231	265	-33%	-42%
Salmon caught	453*	10,645	14,039	-96%	-97%
Sea trout caught	14,599	24,082	43,276	-39%	-66%

*306 fish released (68%).

Rods summary

These are the rod statistics for 2019.

The number of salmon and sea trout rod licences issued (31,099) decreased by 2% compared with 2018. This represents a 2% decrease when compared with the 5-year mean (31,887).

The total declared salmon caught by rod (9,163) increased by 18% compared with 2018 (7,787). This represents a 15% decrease when compared with the 5-year mean (10,799).

The total declared sea trout caught by rod (21,330) increased by 57% compared with 2018 (13,608). This represents a 10% decrease when compared with the 5-year mean (23,785).

Catch-and-release rates for rod caught salmon (89%) and sea trout (85%) showed an increase of 1% for salmon and remained the same for sea trout on those recorded in 2018.

Anglers using a fly caught salmon 51% (4,698) and sea trout 56% (11,860). Spinning yielded 38% (3,482) of salmon and 33% (7,116) of sea trout. Bait captured 9% (846) of salmon and 9% (2,000) of sea trout. There was no method information for 491 catches.

The River Tyne had the highest declared rod catch of salmon (2,968). This accounted for 32% of the total for England and Wales. Next were the Wear (667), Eden (530) and Coquet (530).

The River Teifi had the highest declared rod catch of sea trout (2,035). This accounted for 10% of the total for England and Wales. Next were the Dyfi/Dovey (1,699), Tywi/Towy (1,211) and Tyne (1,175).

For salmon on the Wye, Test and Itchen, we have used catch data from official catch returns. This is in preference to owner’s data which we have used in the past.

Nets summary

These are the nets statistics for 2019.

A total of 154 salmon and sea trout commercial net licences were issued. This compares with 231 in 2018 and a 5-year mean of 265. Since 1985 there has been an 85% reduction in the number of net licences issued annually in England and Wales (from 1,026 to 154).

The salmon net catch (453) decreased by 96% compared with 2018 (10,645) and decreased by 97% when compared with the 5-year mean (14,039). All net fisheries showed decreases in salmon caught – most notably North East (9,433 to 129), South West (232 to 5) and Midlands (102 to 4).

Of the 453 salmon caught by net fishers in 2019, 68% were released (306).

The average weight of net caught salmon was 3.76kg. This compares with an average weight of 4.31kg for rod caught salmon. In 2018 the average weight of net caught salmon was 3.6kg and that for rod caught salmon was 4.38kg.

Net fisheries exempted from the ‘spring’ byelaws (that is those targeting sea trout) released all salmon before 1 June.

A total of 14,599 sea trout were declared caught by the net fisheries, a decrease of 39% compared with the 2018 catch of 24,082 and a decrease of 66% compared with the 5-year mean of 43,276.

The average weight of net caught sea trout was 1.56kg. This compares with an average weight of 0.86kg for rod caught sea trout. In 2018 the average weight of net caught sea trout was 1.73kg and that for rod caught sea trout was 0.87kg.

Table 4 – Number of net and fixed engine licences issued (1985 to 2019) and total number of days fished by salmon and sea trout rod licence holders (1994 to 2019), England and Wales

Year	Net licences	Rod days
1985	1,026	-
1986	1,016	-
1987	983	-
1988	908	-
1989	923	-
1990	933	-
1991	789	-
1992	837	-
1993	760	-
1994	716	292,449
1995	677	243,288
1996	613	231,744
1997	593	269,705
1998	484	233,401
1999	498	187,998
2000	449	177,532
2001	444	134,853
2002	432	181,850
2003	417	172,729
2004	395	191,205
2005	385	186,877
2006	363	148,307
2007	357	164,679
2008	333	171,033
2009	317	183,287
2010	319	195,086
2011	308	196,902
2012	294	167,257
2013	304	164,449
2014	283	144,914
2015	272	141,811
2016	269	135,393
2017	269	141,943
2018	231	106,085
2019	154	125,297

Note: The term fixed engine is an ancient one used in the UK as a general descriptor of stationary fishing gears.

Table 5 – Total declared salmon rod catch for England and Wales, 1956 to 2019

Year	Total	Killed	Released
1956	19,955	19,955	–
1957	21,090	21,090	–
1958	26,209	26,209	–
1959	17,440	17,440	–
1960	20,873	20,873	–
1961	16,138	16,138	–
1962	24,743	24,743	–
1963	30,145	30,145	–
1964	25,034	25,034	–
1965	28,594	28,594	–
1966	35,353	35,353	–
1967	29,735	29,735	–
1968	16,860	16,860	–
1969	16,306	16,306	–
1970	19,180	19,180	–
1971	19,869	19,869	–
1972	24,889	24,889	–
1973	21,020	21,020	–
1974	24,197	24,197	–
1975	24,300	24,300	–
1976	10,779	10,779	–
1977	19,219	19,219	–
1978	17,605	17,605	–
1979	14,108	14,108	–
1980	21,145	21,145	–
1981	22,190	22,190	–
1982	13,524	13,524	–
1983	14,815	14,815	–
1984	11,022	11,022	–
1985	19,601	19,601	–
1986	20,347	20,347	–
1987	19,702	19,702	–
1988	32,876	32,876	–
1989	14,721	14,721	–
1990	14,849	14,849	–
1991	13,974	13,974	–
1992	14,319	14,319	–
1993	18,742	17,294	1,448
1994	24,891	21,664	3,227
1995	16,006	12,819	3,187
1996	17,444	14,016	3,428
1997	13,047	9,915	3,132
1998	17,109	11,738	5,371
1999	12,505	7,058	5,447
2000	17,596	10,126	7,470
2001	14,383	8,240	6,143
2002	15,282	7,624	7,658
2003	11,519	5,094	6,425
2004	27,336	14,125	13,211
2005	21,418	9,435	11,983
2006	19,509	8,550	10,959
2007	19,984	9,071	10,913
2008	23,512	10,477	13,035
2009	15,563	6,467	9,096
2010	24,826	10,135	14,691
2011	23,008	8,812	14,196
2012	18,450	6,498	11,952
2013	14,920	4,462	10,458
2014	10,307	2,315	7,992
2015	10,261	2,150	8,111
2016	12,068	2,367	9,701
2017	13,571	2,315	11,256
2018	7,787	930	6,857
2019	9,163	992	8,171

Table 6 – Total declared sea trout rod catch for England and Wales, 1978 to 2019

Year	Total	Killed	Released
1978	30,966	30,966	-
1979	47,462	47,462	-
1980	40,668	40,668	-
1981	45,152	45,152	-
1982	38,730	38,730	-
1983	39,157	39,157	-
1984	30,560	30,560	-
1985	32,379	32,379	-
1986	36,882	36,882	-
1987	55,863	55,863	-
1988	49,618	49,618	-
1989	22,910	22,910	-
1990	17,031	17,031	-
1991	21,951	21,951	-
1992	14,742	14,742	-
1993	26,685	18,931	7,754
1994	45,759	29,184	16,575
1995	27,335	16,091	11,244
1996	29,685	16,825	12,860
1997	30,142	17,302	12,840
1998	48,312	23,978	24,334
1999	46,797	24,035	22,762
2000	41,322	20,628	20,694
2001	40,392	18,061	22,331
2002	49,796	24,626	25,170
2003	45,101	20,698	24,403
2004	36,100	16,611	19,489
2005	40,319	16,590	23,729
2006	24,269	9,940	14,329
2007	29,398	12,622	16,776
2008	27,707	11,488	16,219
2009	30,354	11,616	18,738
2010	37,543	11,533	26,010
2011	35,564	9,884	25,680
2012	30,700	8,859	21,841
2013	29,427	6,820	22,607
2014	29,560	6,105	23,455
2015	27,851	6,348	21,503
2016	25,779	5,988	19,791
2017	22,135	5,251	16,884
2018	13,608	2,005	11,603
2019	21,330	3,113	18,217

Table 7 – Total declared salmon net and fixed engine catch for England and Wales, 1956 to 2019

Year	Total	Excluding NE coast	NE coast
1956	36,225	29,564	6,661
1957	36,591	29,921	6,670
1958	34,075	26,264	7,811
1959	40,302	29,861	10,441
1960	43,648	27,792	15,856
1961	34,334	22,699	11,635
1962	53,559	33,469	20,090
1963	45,290	32,858	12,432
1964	47,947	32,907	15,040
1965	45,161	28,980	16,181
1966	53,970	38,336	15,634
1967	64,953	38,594	26,359
1968	49,380	24,630	24,750
1969	79,624	29,800	49,824
1970	125,244	30,253	94,991
1971	89,992	29,639	60,353
1972	83,185	31,504	51,681
1973	93,766	30,924	62,842
1974	80,128	27,372	52,756
1975	88,762	35,311	53,451
1976	43,515	27,814	15,701
1977	75,063	22,175	52,888
1978	75,520	23,890	51,630
1979	61,278	17,814	43,464
1980	69,073	23,293	45,780
1981	98,849	29,736	69,113
1982	66,765	16,598	50,167
1983	102,180	24,903	77,277
1984	83,249	23,954	59,295
1985	75,932	18,576	57,356
1986	90,447	27,022	63,425
1987	63,728	27,585	36,143
1988	77,317	26,468	50,849
1989	68,940	27,487	41,453
1990	71,827	20,297	51,530
1991	37,675	12,246	25,429
1992	33,849	13,705	20,144
1993	57,081	15,281	41,800
1994	66,457	19,903	46,554
1995	67,659	14,449	53,210
1996	32,680	14,099	18,581
1997	31,459	9,537	21,922
1998	25,179	6,914	18,265
1999	34,146	7,313	26,833
2000	50,998	7,644	43,354
2001	43,243	7,128	36,115
2002	38,279	7,299	30,980
2003	17,219	6,784	10,435
2004	16,581	5,564	11,017
2005	16,811	6,914	9,897
2006	13,578	6,012	7,566
2007	10,922	3,831	7,091
2008	8,798	2,668	6,130
2009	7,505	2,110	5,395
2010	22,615	2,633	19,982
2011	25,896	1,682	24,214
2012	8,429	1,130	7,299
2013	18,143	1,500	16,643
2014	11,976	1,766	10,210
2015	17,132	1,269	15,863
2016	20,307	1,488	18,824
2017	10,133	712	9,157
2018	10,645	1,212	9,433
2019	453	324	129

Table 8 – Total declared sea trout net and fixed engine catch for England and Wales, 1978 to 2019

Year	Total	Excluding NE coast	NE coast
1978	55,300	17,709	37,591
1979	67,667	23,352	44,315
1980	97,206	31,351	65,855
1981	83,333	23,852	59,481
1982	79,353	23,374	55,979
1983	84,511	24,442	60,069
1984	95,699	31,623	64,076
1985	68,130	17,351	50,779
1986	62,452	14,735	47,717
1987	69,556	20,217	49,339
1988	73,184	18,899	54,285
1989	91,487	20,118	71,369
1990	56,194	11,777	44,417
1991	50,903	10,250	40,653
1992	41,903	9,834	32,069
1993	39,887	8,073	31,814
1994	60,895	9,759	51,136
1995	64,128	9,689	54,439
1996	35,259	7,861	27,398
1997	34,986	6,464	28,522
1998	27,159	4,899	22,260
1999	40,068	7,610	32,458
2000	46,022	6,635	39,387
2001	44,926	8,994	35,932
2002	37,018	6,478	30,540
2003	29,248	7,477	21,771
2004	26,055	6,313	19,742
2005	23,429	4,656	18,773
2006	25,311	2,819	22,492
2007	20,351	2,785	17,566
2008	27,974	3,109	24,865
2009	30,755	3,798	26,957
2010	60,229	4,683	55,546
2011	31,559	2,922	28,637
2012	24,418	2,465	21,953
2013	43,376	3,182	40,194
2014	49,250	4,606	44,644
2015	64,468	4,726	59,742
2016	41,803	2,940	38,863
2017	37,002	810	35,372
2018	24,082	1,574	22,508
2019	14,599	926	13,673

4. Area catch summaries – 2019, 2018 and 5-year mean

Table 9 – Summary of salmon rod catches by area

Environment Agency area	2019	2018	5-year mean (2014-2018)	% change (+/-) 2019 on 2018	% change (+/-) 2019 on 5-year mean
North East	4,468	3,356	3,999	33%	12%
Anglian	-	-	-	-	-
South East	217	140	316	55%	-31%
South West	656	598	1,158	10%	-43%
Midlands	161	185	306	-13%	-47%
North West	2,172	2,209	2,526	-2%	-14%
England	7,674	6,488	8,305	18%	-8%
Wales	1,489	1,299	2,494	15%	-40%
England and Wales	9,163	7,787	10,799	18%	-15%

Table 10 – Summary of sea trout rod catches by area

Environment Agency area	2019	2018	5-year mean (2014-2018)	% change (+/-) 2019 on 2018	% change (+/-) 2019 on 5-year mean
North East	2,894	1,918	2,810	51%	3%
Anglian	1	-	5	-	-81%
South East	728	801	979	-9%	-26%
South West	3,640	2,303	3,912	58%	-7%
Midlands	8	16	23	-50%	-65%
North West	4,260	3,210	5,466	33%	-22%
England	11,531	8,248	13,194	40%	-13%
Wales	9,799	5,360	10,590	83%	-7%
England and Wales	21,330	13,608	23,785	57%	-10%

Table 11 – Summary of salmon net and fixed engine catches by area

Environment Agency area	2019	2018	5-year mean (2014-2018)	change (+/-) 2019 on 2018	% change (+/-) 2019 on 5-year mean
North East	129	9,433	12,815	-99%	-99%
Anglian	-	-	2	-	-100%
South East	-	-	-	-	-
South West	5	232	302	-98%	-98%
Midlands	4	102	124	-96%	-97%
North West	126	561	550	-78%	-77%
England	264	10,328	13,792	-97%	-98%
Wales	189	317	246	-40%	-23%
England and Wales	453	10,645	14,039	-96%	-97%

Table 12 – Summary of sea trout net and fixed engine catches by area

Environment Agency area	2019	2018	5-year mean (2014-2018)	% change (+/-) 2019 on 2018	% change (+/-) 2019 on 5-year mean
North East	13,673	22,508	40,666	-39%	-66%
Anglian	163	219	314	-26%	-48%
South East	-	-	1	-	-100%
South West	85	147	298	-42%	-71%
Midlands	-	-	-	-	-
North West	167	433	679	-61%	-75%
England	14,088	23,307	41,959	-40%	-66%
Wales	511	775	1,318	-34%	-61%
England and Wales	14,599	24,082	43,276	-39%	-66%

Figure 5 – Declared salmon and sea trout rod catches by area

Environment Agency area	Salmon	Sea trout
North East	4,468	2,894
Anglian	-	1
South East	217	728
South West	656	3,640
Midlands	161	8
North West	2,172	4,260
Wales	1,489	9,799
Total	9,163	21,330

Figure 6 – Declared salmon and sea trout net and fixed engine catches by area

Environment Agency area	Salmon	Sea trout
North East	129	13,673
Anglian	-	163
South East	-	-
South West	5	85
Midlands	4	-
North West	126	167
Wales	189	511
Total	453	14,599

5. River catch summaries by area

Table 13 – Salmon rod catches 2019

North East salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Aln	5	5	100%
Coquet	530	491	93%
Tyne	2,968	2,558	86%
Wear	667	573	86%
Tees	25	24	96%
Esk (Yorks)	74	73	99%
Ouse (Yorks)	199	198	99%
Other	-	-	-
Total	4,468	3,922	88%

South East salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Itchen	122	122	100%
Test	94	94	100%
Other	1	1	100%
Total	217	217	100%

South West salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Avon (Hants)	31	31	100%
Frome	53	53	100%
Axe	5	5	100%
Exe	96	88	92%
Teign	39	34	87%
Dart	14	13	93%
Avon (Devon)	7	7	100%
Erme	1	1	100%
Yealm	-	-	-
Plym	5	5	100%
Tavy	25	20	80%
Lynher	27	25	93%
Tamar	101	92	91%
Fowey	52	51	98%
Camel	58	58	100%
Torridge	14	14	100%
Taw	78	70	90%
Lyn	46	46	100%
Other	4	4	100%
Total	656	617	94%

Midlands salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Severn	159	157	99%
Other	2	2	100%
Total	161	159	99%

North West salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Ribble	380	369	97%
Wyre	-	-	-
Lune	255	205	80%
Kent	126	108	86%
Crake	6	6	100%
Leven	41	41	100%
Duddon	37	34	92%
Irt	38	33	87%
Esk (Cumbrian)	39	37	95%
Calder	5	5	100%
Ehen	132	104	79%
Derwent	182	162	89%
Ellen	-	-	-
Eden	530	516	97%
Esk (Border)	400	381	95%
Other	1	1	100%
Total	2,172	2,002	92%

England total

Total number of salmon rod catches for 2019:

• salmon caught – 7,674
• salmon released – 6,917
• percentage released – 90%

Wales salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Wye	243	242	100%
Usk	216	197	91%
Taff	11	7	64%
Ogmore	13	13	100%
Afan	8	4	50%
Neath	7	6	86%
Tawe	19	16	84%
Loughor	13	9	69%
Gwendraeth Fach	-	-	-
Tywi/Towy	186	111	60%
Taf	28	17	61%
Cleddau (E&W)	23	19	83%
Nevern	5	5	100%
Teifi	142	102	72%
Ystwyth	3	2	67%
Rheidol	6	6	100%
Dyfi/Dovey	65	45	69%
Dysynni	2	2	100%
Mawddach	59	52	88%
Artro	1	1	100%
Dwyryd	1	0	0%
Glaslyn	11	10	91%
Dwyfawr	8	7	88%
Gwyrfai	1	1	100%
Seiont	10	6	60%
Ogwen	57	47	82%
Conwy	119	110	92%
Clwyd	19	18	95%
Dee	211	198	94%
Other	2	1	50%

Wales total

Total number of salmon rod catches for 2019:

• salmon caught – 1,489
• salmon released – 1,254
• percentage released – 84%

England and Wales total

Total number of salmon rod catches for 2019:

• salmon caught – 9,163
• salmon released – 8,171
• percentage released – 89%

Table 14 – sea trout rod catches 2019

North East sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Aln	4	3	75%
Coquet	279	247	89%
Tyne	1,175	929	79%
Wear	770	644	84%
Tees	3	3	100%
Esk (Yorks)	586	474	81%
Ouse (Yorks)	57	54	95%
Other	20	14	70%
Total	2,894	2,368	82%

Anglian sea trout rod catches

Total number of:

• sea trout caught – 1
• sea trout released – 1
• percentage released – 100%

South East sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Thames	1	0	0%
Rother (Petworth)	9	8	89%
Ouse (Sussex)	13	13	100%
Itchen	404	387	96%
Test	190	176	93%
Beaulieu	18	13	72%
Lymington	35	34	97%
Other	58	48	83%
Total	728	679	93%

South West sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Avon (Hants)	335	300	90%
Stour	27	18	67%
Piddle	6	6	100%
Frome	223	206	92%
Brit	3	2	67%
Axe	172	156	91%
Otter	66	62	94%
Exe	20	20	100%
Teign	538	461	86%
Dart	194	143	74%
Avon (Devon)	42	31	74%
Erme	34	29	85%
Yealm	2	1	50%
Plym	18	13	72%
Tavy	284	227	80%
Lynher	123	113	92%
Tamar	573	489	85%
Looe	5	4	80%
Fowey	398	357	90%
Camel	196	157	80%
Torridge	120	110	92%
Taw	245	208	85%
Lyn	8	8	100%
Other	8	7	88%
Total	3,640	3,128	86%

Midlands sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Severn	8	8	100%
Other	-	-	-
Total	8	8	100%

North west sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Ribble	696	635	91%
Wyre	22	21	95%
Lune	961	859	89%
Kent	205	186	91%
Crake	47	39	83%
Leven	29	26	90%
Duddon	129	115	89%
Irt	207	184	89%
Esk (Cumbrian)	94	88	94%
Calder	-	-	-
Ehen	332	307	92%
Derwent	255	244	96%
Ellen	19	16	84%
Eden	333	325	98%
Esk (Border)	925	839	91%
Other	6	6	100%
Total	4,260	3,890	91%

England total

Total number of sea trout rod catches for 2019:

• sea trout caught – 11,531
• sea trout released – 10,074
• percentage released – 87%

Wales sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Wye	46	44	96%
Usk	161	142	88%
Rhymney	3	3	100%
Taff	20	15	75%
Ogmore	166	153	92%
Afan	53	50	94%
Neath	59	52	88%
Tawe	92	90	98%
Loughor	49	35	71%
Gwendraeth Fach	17	16	94%
Tywi/Towy	1,211	1,002	83%
Taf	21	14	67%
Cleddau (E&W)	144	122	85%
Nevern	224	136	61%
Teifi	2,035	1,548	76%
Aeron	155	97	63%
Ystwyth	90	75	83%
Rheidol	127	117	92%
Dyfi/Dovey	1,699	1,459	86%
Dysynni	246	223	91%
Mawddach	425	403	95%
Artro	31	20	65%
Dwyryd	20	18	90%
Glaslyn	383	313	82%
Dwyfawr	149	93	62%
Dwyfach	10	10	100%
Llyfni	53	34	64%
Gwyrfai	-	-	-
Seiont	81	63	78%
Cefni	3	3	100%
Ogwen	252	202	80%
Conwy	516	485	94%
Clwyd	823	739	90%
Dee	407	350	86%
Other	28	17	61%

Wales total

Total number of sea trout rod catches for 2019:

• sea trout caught – 9,799
• sea trout released – 8,143
• percentage released – 83%

England and Wales total

Total number of sea trout rod catches for 2019:

• sea trout caught – 21,330
• sea trout released – 18,217
• percentage released – 85%

Table 15 – Salmon net catches 2019

North East salmon net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Northumbria and Yorkshire	Drift nets	-	-
Northumbria (D1)	T nets	59	93
Yorkshire (3-7)	T or J nets	70	326
Whole area	Total	129	419

Anglian salmon net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Coastal	Drift nets	0	0
Coastal	Other nets (var.)	0	0
Whole area	Total	0	0

South East (southern) salmon net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Solent area	Seine nets	0	0
Whole area	Total	0	0

South West salmon net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Avon and Stour	Seine nets	-	-
Poole Harbour	Seine nets	0	0
Exe	Seine nets	-	-
Teign	Seine nets	5	22
Dart	Seine nets	-	-
Camel	Drift nets	-	-
Tavy	Seine nets	-	-
Tamar	Seine nets	-	-
Lynher	Seine nets	-	-
Fowey	Seine nets	-	-
Taw/Torridge	Seine nets	-	-
Whole area	Total	5	22

Midlands salmon net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Severn	Seine/Draft nets	-	-
Severn	Lave nets	4	17
Severn	Putcher Rank	-	-
Whole area	Total	4	17

North West salmon net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Ribble	Drift nets	-	-
Lune	Haaf nets	17	69
Lune	Drift nets	-	-
Kent	Lave nets	-	-
Leven	Lave nets	5	15
Eden and Esk (Solway)	Haaf nets	104	455
Eden	Coop traps	0	0
Whole area	Total	126	540

England total

Total salmon net catches for 2019:

• salmon total number – 264
• salmon total weight – 998kg

Wales salmon net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Wye	Lave nets	2	8
Tywi/Towy	Seine nets	10	42
Tywi/Towy	Coracle nets	65	227
Tywi/Towy and Wye	Combined river total	77	277
Taf	Wade net	0	0
Taf	Coracle nets	-	-
Taf	River total	0	0
Cleddau (E&W)	Compass nets	0	0
Nevern	Seine nets	-	-
Teifi	Seine nets	9	22
Teifi	Coracle nets	102	401
Teifi	River total	111	423
Dyfi/Dovey	Seine nets	0	0
Dysynni	Seine nets	-	-
Mawddach	Seine nets	0	0
Glaslyn	Seine nets	-	-
Conwy	Basket trap	-	-
Conwy	Seine nets	1	4
Conwy	River total	1	4
Dee	Trammel nets	-	-
Dee	Draft/seine nets	-	-
Dee	River total	-	-

Wales total

Total salmon net catches for 2019:

• salmon total number – 189
• salmon total weight – 704kg

England and Wales total

Total salmon net catches for 2019:

• salmon total number – 453
• salmon total weight – 1,702kg

Table 16 – sea trout net catches 2019

North East sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Northumbria and Yorkshire	Drift nets	-	-
Northumbria (D1)	T nets	4,252	6,356
Yorkshire (3-7)	T or J nets	9,421	14,930
Whole area	Total	13,673	21,286

Anglian sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Coastal	Drift nets	133	148
Coastal	Other nets (var.)	30	46
Whole area	Total	163	195

South East (southern) sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Solent area	Seine nets	0	0
Whole area	Total	0	0

South West sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Avon and Stour	Seine nets	-	-
Poole Harbour	Seine nets	3	4
Exe	Seine nets	-	-
Teign	Seine nets	82	107
Dart	Seine nets	-	-
Camel	Drift nets	-	-
Tavy	Seine nets	-	-
Tamar	Seine nets	-	-
Lynher	Seine nets	-	-
Fowey	Seine nets	-	-
Taw/Torridge	Seine nets	-	-
Whole area	Total	85	110

Midlands sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Severn	Draft/seine nets	-	-
Severn	Lave nets	0	0
Severn	Fixed (Putcher Rank)	-	-
Whole area	Total	0	0

North West sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Ribble	Drift nets	-	-
Lune	Haaf nets	34	71
Lune	Drift nets	-	-
Kent	Lave nets	-	-
Leven	Lave nets	0	0
Solway	Haaf nets	133	164
Eden	Coop traps	0	0
Whole area	Total	167	235

England total

Total number of sea trout nets catches for 2019:

• sea trout total number – 14,088
• sea trout total weight – 21,827kg

Wales sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Tywi/Towy	Seine nets	43	68
Tywi/Towy	Coracle nets	109	278
Tywi/Towy	River total	152	346
Taf	Wade net	0	0
Taf	Coracle nets	-	-
Taf	River total	0	0
Cleddau (E&W)	Compass nets	2	7
Nevern	Seine nets	-	-
Teifi	Seine nets	0	0
Teifi	Coracle nets	330	571
Teifi and Cleddau (E&W)	Combined river total	332	578
Dyfi/Dovey	Seine nets	19	47
Dysynni	Seine nets	-	-
Mawddach	Seine nets	0	0
Conwy	Basket trap	-	-
Conwy	Seine nets	8	9
Conwy and Dyfi/Dovey	Combined river total	27	56
Clwyd	Sling nets	-	-
Dee	Trammel nets	-	-
Dee	Draft/seine nets	-	-
Dee	River total	-	-

Wales total

Total number of sea trout nets catches for 2019:

• sea trout total number – 511
• sea trout total weight – 980kg

England and Wales total

Total number of sea trout nets catches for 2019:

• sea trout total number – 14,599
• sea trout total weight – 22,807kg

6. Eel, smelt, and lamprey catches

The Environment Agency, together with Natural Resources Wales, issue commercial fishing authorisations for eel, elver, lamprey, and smelt fishing.

Eel and elver fishing

Authorisations for commercial yellow and silver eel fishing are restricted to those already licensed to fish. Elver fishing is restricted to certain locations with fishers only authorised to use hand held ‘dip nets’.

Adult eel fishing was authorised between 1 April and 30 November 2019. Elver fishers were authorised to fish between 15 February and 25 May 2019.

Smelt and lamprey fishing

Authorisations for smelt and lamprey fishing are restricted to those already authorised to fish.

Smelt fishing is generally authorised between 20 February and 25 April each year. Fishers must provide the Environment Agency with a completed catch return within 30 days of the expiry of their authorisation. The total weight of smelt taken is subject to a quota.

The fishing season for river lamprey is 1 November to 10 December each year. The total weight of lamprey that can be taken is subject to a quota. Fishers must provide the Environment Agency with a completed catch return within 30 days of the expiry of their authorisation.

Table 17 – Eel, elver, lamprey and smelt authorisations – number, value and catch, 2019 season

Adult eel fishery

Number of authorisations – 51

Method	Number of instruments	Value (£)	Caught (kg)*
Small wingless traps	214	£560	-
Fyke nets	1,649	£3,310	-
Fixed traps	5	£575	-
Total	1,868	£4,445	-

*Data not available

Elver fishery

Number of authorisations – 395

Method	Number of instruments	Value (£)	Caught (kg)
Dip net	395	£85	6,029
Total	395	£33,575	6,029

Lamprey fishery

Number of authorisations – 2

Method	Number of instruments	Value (£)	Caught (kg)*
Pot traps	20	£70	81.25
Total	20	£70	81.25

*18.90kg of lamprey retained.

Smelt fishery

Number of authorisations – 12

Method	Number of instruments	Value (£)	Caught (kg)
Pot traps/Fyke nets	676	-	1,330
Total	676	-	1,330

Note: Smelt fishers given a 2-year authorisation in 2018. No payment was taken in 2019.