Rod Catches and Counter Data

Since 1952 official rod catch figures for each river in Scotland have been collected.

Figures presented are compiled from the official catch statistics which beat owners have submitted to Marine Scotland (a legal requirement). GFT cannot guarantee the accuracy of these records.

For more information visit https://www.gov.scot/publications/marine-publications-information-on-scottish-salmon-and-sea-trout-statistics/. 

The River Tweed famously has rod and net fishery catch records going back as far as 1855 and 1842 respectively and large fluctuations in the catches can clearly be seen over the whole time series as can changes in the run timing and sizes / sea-ages of the fish.

The official rod catches for salmon and sea trout for the last 15 years are graphed for the Luce, Bladnoch, Cree, Urr and Annan presented in the Gallery. Data shows rod caught fish only (salmon and grilse), with rod caught released fish included in the figures. These graphs do not show catches from nets (fixed engines, net & cobble) which have fallen significantly across the Solway as the net fisheries have closed.  

Fish counters provide an excellent tool for stock assessment.  There is a Vaki fish counter located at the bottom of the Kirkcudbrightshire Dee in Tongland fish pass. It was installed in 2007 and is owned by Drax and maintained by GFT. All migratory fish returning to the Kirkcudbrightshire Dee must pass through this counter. Although it was once famed as one of the best salmon rivers in southern Scotland, stocks have fallen greatly over the years due to various pressures.   The annual salmon counts from the last 15 years are presented in the Gallery.     

Gallery