Research and analysis

Salmonid and fisheries statistics for England and Wales 2022

Updated 14 December 2023

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 2022. 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 2022. You should not accept it as a definitive record of the total numbers of fish landed.

1. Status of salmon stocks

The 2022 assessment of salmon stocks in England and Wales shows that the status of salmon populations continues to be of concern. The assessment places each rivers’ salmon stock into 1 of 4 categories with the strongest classed as ‘not at risk’ and the weakest as ‘at risk’.

In England:

• 36 of 42 principal salmon rivers were assessed as being ‘at risk’ or ‘probably at risk’
• one was 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’

Note: the assessment is based on provisional data

State of 64 principal salmon rivers in England and Wales 2022

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 2022

Risk value	Number of rivers	Percentage of total
Not at risk	1	2%
Probably not at risk	5	12%
Probably at risk	6	14%
At risk	30	71%

Please note that decimal places may be rounded up to the nearest whole percentage.

Figure 2: Salmon stock status in Wales 2022

Risk value	Number of rivers	Percentage of total
Not at risk	0	0%
Probably not at risk	0	0%
Probably at risk	1	5%
At risk	21	95%

Please note that decimal places may be rounded up to the nearest whole percentage.

Figure 3: Percentage of principal salmon rivers in each risk category assessed against the management objective, for 2006 to 2022 and a projection to 2027 for rivers in England

Salmon stock status (% principal salmon rivers in each category)	Not at risk	Probably not at risk	Probably at risk	At risk	Total
2006	21	19	21	38	100
2007	21	21	17	40	100
2008	24	33	7	36	100
2009	14	31	24	31	100
2010	26	21	19	33	100
2011	24	24	29	24	100
2012	17	29	29	26	100
2013	14	17	31	38	100
2014	0	10	67	24	100
2015	0	19	52	29	100
2016	0	10	57	33	100
2017	0	14	64	21	100
2018	0	10	62	29	100
2019	0	7	36	57	100
2020	2	10	40	48	100
2021	2	10	14	74	100
2022	2	12	14	71	100
2027 projection	2	12	26	60	100

Please note that decimal places may be rounded up to the nearest whole percentage.

Figure 4: Percentage of principal salmon rivers in each risk category assessed against the management objective, for 2006 to 2022 and a projection to 2027 for rivers in Wales

Salmon stock status (% principal salmon rivers in each category)	Not at risk	Probably not at risk	Probably at risk	At risk	Total
2006	9	18	18	55	100
2007	5	27	14	55	100
2008	9	23	32	36	100
2009	5	23	32	41	100
2010	9	14	36	41	100
2011	9	23	18	50	100
2012	9	14	27	50	100
2013	5	9	18	68	100
2014	0	0	50	50	100
2015	0	5	45	50	100
2016	0	5	45	50	100
2017	0	5	50	45	100
2018	0	0	45	55	100
2019	0	0	27	73	100
2020	0	0	32	68	100
2021	0	0	9	91	100
2022	0	0	5	95	100
2027 projection	0	0	5	95	100

Please note that decimal places may be rounded up to the nearest whole percentage.

2. Rod and net licence catch returns

For net catch returns, 99% of logbooks were accounted for in 2022.

The Environment Agency sent a total of 38,106 rod catch return reminders to salmon and sea trout rod 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.

The total number of rod catch returns received for the 2022 season was 12,469 (57% 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 to 2022

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%
2020	19,794	3,531	18%	16,263	82%
2021	16,463	2,438	15%	14,025	85%
2022	12,469	1,527	12%	10,942	88%

3. National overview and summary of main findings

Table 2: England and Wales summary of declared salmon and sea trout rod catches in 2022 showing % change on 2021 and the 5-year mean (2017 to 2021)

The following table includes salmon and sea trout rod licences only.

Rods	2022	2021	5-yr mean (2017 to 2021)	% change 2022 on 2021	% change 2022 on 5-yr mean
Licences issued	21,874	23,388	30,004	-6%	-27%
Days declared fished	76,206	91,930	113,319	-17%	-33%
Salmon caught	6,388	5,815	9,580	10%	-33%
Salmon released	6,111	5,535	8,526	10%	-28%
(%) released	96%	95%	89%	1%	7%
Sea trout caught	10,111	12,533	17,777	-19%	-43%
Sea trout released	9,040	11,069	14,884	-18%	-39%
(%) released	89%	88%	84%	1%	7%

Table 3: Summary of declared salmon and sea trout net catches in England and Wales for 2022 showing % change on 2021 and the 5-year mean (2017 to 2021)

Nets	2022	2021	5-year mean (2017 to 2021)	% change 2022 on 2021	% change 2022 on 5-year mean
Licences issued	144	166	195	-13%	-26%
Salmon caught	556	749	4,576	-26%	-88%
Sea trout caught	8,013	5,507	18,734	46%	-57%

Rods summary

These are the rod statistics for 2022.

The number of salmon and sea trout rod licences issued (21,874) decreased by 6% compared with 2021. This represents a 27% decrease when compared with the 5-year mean (30,004).

The total declared salmon caught by rod (6,388) increased by 10% compared with 2021 (5,815). This represents a 33% decrease when compared with the 5-year mean (9,580).

The total declared sea trout caught by rod (10,111) decreased by 19% compared with 2021 (12,533). This represents a 43% decrease when compared with the 5-year mean (17,777).

Catch-and-release rates for rod caught salmon (96%) and sea trout (89%) showed an increase of 1% for both salmon and sea trout when compared with 2021.

Anglers using a fly caught 3,837 salmon (60%) and 6,483 sea trout (64%). Spinning yielded 1,845 salmon (29%) and 2,779 sea trout (27%). Bait captured 663 salmon (10%) and 992 sea trout (10%). There was no method information for 96 catches.

The River Tyne had the highest declared rod catch of salmon (2,073). This accounted for 32% of the total for England and Wales. Next were the Wear (636), Eden (407) and Coquet (385).

The River Tyne had the highest declared rod catch of sea trout (1,177). This accounted for 12% of the total for England and Wales. Next were the Teifi (728), Tywi/Towy (670) and Border Esk (594).

Nets summary

These are the nets statistics for 2022.

A total of 144 salmon and sea trout commercial net licences were issued. This compares with 166 in 2021 and a 5-year mean of 195. Since 1985 there has been an 86% reduction in the number of net licences issued annually in England and Wales (from 1,026 to 144).

The salmon net catch (556) decreased by 26% compared with 2021 (749) and decreased by 88% when compared with the 5-year mean (4,576). The Northwest showed a decrease in salmon caught (480 to 236). The North East also showed a decrease (131 to 73). Wales showed an increase in salmon caught (128 to 233).

Of the 556 salmon caught by net fishers in 2022, 100% were released.

The average weight of a net caught salmon was 4.3kg. This compares with an average weight of 4.39kg for rod caught salmon. In 2021 the average weight of net caught salmon was 3.63kg and that for rod caught salmon was 4.25kg.

A total of 8,013 sea trout were declared caught by the net fisheries, an increase of 31% compared with the 2021 catch of 5,507 and a decrease of 57% compared with the 5-year mean of 18,734.

The average weight of net caught sea trout was 1.77kg. This compares with an average weight of 1kg for rod caught sea trout. In 2021, the average weight of net caught sea trout was 1.72kg and that for rod caught sea trout was 0.89kg.

Table 4: Number of net and fixed engine licences issued (1985 to 2022) and total number of days fished by salmon and sea trout rod licence holders (1994 to 2022), England and Wales

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

Number of net and fixed engine licences issued between 1985 and 2022

Year	Net licences
1985	1,026
1986	1,016
1987	983
1988	908
1989	923
1990	933
1991	789
1992	837
1993	760
1994	716
1995	677
1996	613
1997	593
1998	484
1999	498
2000	449
2001	444
2002	432
2003	417
2004	395
2005	385
2006	363
2007	357
2008	333
2009	317
2010	319
2011	308
2012	294
2013	304
2014	283
2015	272
2016	269
2017	269
2018	231
2019	154
2020	154
2021	166
2022	144

Total number of days fished by salmon and sea trout rod licence holders between 1994 and 2022

Year	Rod days
1994	292,449
1995	243,288
1996	231,744
1997	269,705
1998	233,401
1999	187,998
2000	177,532
2001	134,853
2002	181,850
2003	172,729
2004	191,205
2005	186,877
2006	148,307
2007	164,679
2008	171,033
2009	183,287
2010	195,086
2011	196,902
2012	167,257
2013	164,449
2014	144,914
2015	141,811
2016	135,393
2017	141,943
2018	106,085
2019	125,297
2020	107,776
2021	91,930
2022	76,206

Table 5: Total declared salmon rod catch for England and Wales, 1956 to 2022

Year	Killed	Released	Total
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	17,294	1,448	18,742
1994	21,664	3,227	24,891
1995	12,819	3,187	16,006
1996	14,016	3,428	17,444
1997	9,915	3,132	13,047
1998	11,738	5,371	17,109
1999	7,058	5,447	12,505
2000	10,126	7,470	17,596
2001	8,240	6,143	14,383
2002	7,624	7,658	15,282
2003	5,094	6,425	11,519
2004	14,125	13,211	27,336
2005	9,435	11,983	21,418
2006	8,550	10,959	19,509
2007	9,071	10,913	19,984
2008	10,477	13,035	23,512
2009	6,467	9,096	15,563
2010	10,135	14,691	24,826
2011	8,812	14,196	23,008
2012	6,498	11,952	18,450
2013	4,462	10,458	14,920
2014	2,315	7,992	10,307
2015	2,150	8,111	10,261
2016	2,367	9,701	12,068
2017	2,315	11,256	13,571
2018	930	6,857	7,787
2019	930	8,171	9,163
2020	754	8,171	11,566
2021	280	5,535	5,815
2022	277	6,111	6,388

There is no data for released salmon rod catch from 1956 to 1992.

Table 6: Total declared sea trout rod catch for England and Wales, 1978 to 2022

Year	Killed	Released	Total
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	18,931	7,754	26,685
1994	29,184	16,575	45,759
1995	16,091	11,244	27,335
1996	16,825	12,860	29,685
1997	17,302	12,840	30,142
1998	23,978	24,334	48,312
1999	24,035	22,762	46,797
2000	20,628	20,694	41,322
2001	18,061	22,331	40,392
2002	24,626	25,170	49,796
2003	20,698	24,403	45,101
2004	16,611	19,489	36,100
2005	16,590	23,729	40,319
2006	9,940	14,329	24,269
2007	12,622	16,776	29,398
2008	11,488	16,219	27,707
2009	11,616	18,738	30,354
2010	11,533	26,010	37,543
2011	9,884	25,680	35,564
2012	8,859	21,841	30,700
2013	6,820	22,607	29,427
2014	6,105	23,455	29,560
2015	6,348	21,503	27,851
2016	5,988	19,791	25,779
2017	5,251	16,884	22,135
2018	2,005	11,603	13,608
2019	3,113	18,217	21,330
2020	2,629	16,648	19,277
2021	1,464	11,069	12,533
2022	1,071	9,040	10,111

There is no data for released sea trout rod catch from 1978 to 1992.

Table 7: Total declared salmon net and fixed engine catch for England and Wales, 1956 to 2022

Year	Excluding NE coast	NE coast	Total
1956	29,564	6,661	36,225
1957	29,921	6,670	36,591
1958	26,264	7,811	34,075
1959	29,861	10,441	40,302
1960	27,792	15,856	43,648
1961	22,699	11,635	34,334
1962	33,469	20,090	53,559
1963	32,858	12,432	45,290
1964	32,907	15,040	47,947
1965	28,980	16,181	45,161
1966	38,336	15,634	53,970
1967	38,594	26,359	64,953
1968	24,630	24,750	49,380
1969	29,800	49,824	79,624
1970	30,253	94,991	125,244
1971	29,639	60,353	89,992
1972	31,504	51,681	83,185
1973	30,924	62,842	93,766
1974	27,372	52,756	80,128
1975	35,311	53,451	88,762
1976	27,814	15,701	43,515
1977	22,175	52,888	75,063
1978	23,890	51,630	75,520
1979	17,814	43,464	61,278
1980	23,293	45,780	69,073
1981	29,736	69,113	98,849
1982	16,598	50,167	66,765
1983	24,903	77,277	102,180
1984	23,954	59,295	83,249
1985	18,576	57,356	75,932
1986	27,022	63,425	90,447
1987	27,585	36,143	63,728
1988	26,468	50,849	77,317
1989	27,487	41,453	68,940
1990	20,297	51,530	71,827
1991	12,246	25,429	37,675
1992	13,705	20,144	33,849
1993	15,281	41,800	57,081
1994	19,903	46,554	66,457
1995	14,449	53,210	67,659
1996	14,099	18,581	32,680
1997	9,537	21,922	31,459
1998	6,914	18,265	25,179
1999	7,313	26,833	34,146
2000	7,644	43,354	50,998
2001	7,128	36,115	43,243
2002	7,299	30,980	38,279
2003	6,784	10,435	17,219
2004	5,564	11,017	16,581
2005	6,914	9,897	16,811
2006	6,012	7,566	13,578
2007	3,831	7,091	10,922
2008	2,668	6,130	8,798
2009	2,110	5,395	7,505
2010	2,633	19,982	22,615
2011	1,682	24,214	25,896
2012	1,130	7,299	8,429
2013	1,500	16,643	18,143
2014	1,766	10,210	11,976
2015	1,269	15,863	17,132
2016	1,488	18,824	20,307
2017	712	9,157	10,133
2018	1,212	9,433	10,645
2019	324	129	453
2020	612	288	900
2021	618	131	749
2022	483	73	556

Table 8: Total declared sea trout net and fixed engine catch for England and Wales, 1978 to 2022

Year	Excluding NE coast	NE coast	Total
1978	17,709	37,591	55,300
1979	23,352	44,315	67,667
1980	31,351	65,855	97,206
1981	23,852	59,481	83,333
1982	23,374	55,979	79,353
1983	24,442	60,069	84,511
1984	31,623	64,076	95,699
1985	17,351	50,779	68,130
1986	14,735	47,717	62,452
1987	20,217	49,339	69,556
1988	18,899	54,285	73,184
1989	20,118	71,369	91,487
1990	11,777	44,417	56,194
1991	10,250	40,653	50,903
1992	9,834	32,069	41,903
1993	8,073	31,814	39,887
1994	9,759	51,136	60,895
1995	9,689	54,439	64,128
1996	7,861	27,398	35,259
1997	6,464	28,522	34,986
1998	4,899	22,260	27,159
1999	7,610	32,458	40,068
2000	6,635	39,387	46,022
2001	8,994	35,932	44,926
2002	6,478	30,540	37,018
2003	7,477	21,771	29,248
2004	6,313	19,742	26,055
2005	4,656	18,773	23,429
2006	2,819	22,492	25,311
2007	2,785	17,566	20,351
2008	3,109	24,865	27,974
2009	3,798	26,957	30,755
2010	4,683	55,546	60,229
2011	2,922	28,637	31,559
2012	2,465	21,953	24,418
2013	3,182	40,194	43,376
2014	4,606	44,644	49,250
2015	4,726	59,742	64,468
2016	2,940	38,863	41,803
2017	1,630	35,148	36,778
2018	1,574	22,508	24,082
2019	926	13,673	14,599
2020	1,801	10,902	12,703
2021	4,731	776	5,507
2022	1,052	6,961	8,013

4. Area catch summaries (2022, 2021 and 5-year mean)

Table 9: Summary of salmon rod catches by area

EA area or country	2022	2021	5-year mean (2017-2021)	% change (+/-) 2022 on 2021	% change (+/-) 2022 on 5-year mean
North East	3,205	2,351	3,926	36%	-18%
Anglian	0	0	0	0%	0%
South East	157	208	253	-25%	-38%
South West	459	823	929	-44%	-51%
Midlands	63	93	198	-32%	-68%
North West	1,614	1,294	2,451	25%	-34%
England	5,498	4,769	7,757	15%	-29%
Wales	882	1,046	1,823	-16%	-52%
England and Wales	6,388	5,815	9,580	10%	-33%

Table 10: Summary of sea trout rod catches by area

EA area or country	2022	2021	5-year mean (2017-2021)	% change (+/-) 2022 on 2021	% change (+/-) 2022 on 5-year mean
North East	1,982	1,661	2,627	19%	-25%
Anglian	0	1	1	-100%	-100%
South East	537	1,145	868	-53%	-38%
South West	1,528	3,185	3,332	-52%	-54%
Midlands	5	4	8	25%	-35%
North West	2,485	2,586	3,514	-4%	-29%
England	6,537	8,582	10,141	-24%	-36%
Wales	3,574	3,944	7,258	-9%	-51%
England and Wales	10,111	12,533	17,777	-19%	-43%

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

EA area or country	2022	2021	5-year mean (2017-2021)	Percentage change (+/-) 2022 on 2021	Percentage change (+/-) 2022 on 5-year mean
North East	73	131	3,826	-44%	-98%
Anglian	0	2	1	-100%	-100%
South East	0	0	0	0%	0%
South West	4	2	99	100%	-96%
Midlands	10	6	40	67%	-75%
North West	236	480	392	-51%	-40%
England	323	621	4,360	-48%	-93%
Wales	233	128	216	82%	8%
England and Wales	556	749	4,576	-26%	-88%

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

EA area or country	2022	2021	5-year mean (2017-2021)	% change (+/-) 2022 on 2021	% change (+/-) 2022 on 5-yr mean
North East	6,961	4,731	17,392	47%	-60%
Anglian	58	69	172	-16%	-66%
South East	0	0	-	0%	0%
South West	88	53	118	66%	-26%
Midlands	0	0	1	0%	-100%
North West	218	344	337	-37%	-35%
England	7,325	5,197	18,020	41%	-59%
Wales	688	310	714	122%	-4%
England and Wales	8,013	5,507	18,734	46%	-57%

Figure 5: Declared salmon and sea trout rod catches by area, 2022

Area	Salmon	Sea trout
Anglian	0	0
Midlands	63	5
North East	3,205	1,982
North West	1,614	2,485
South East	157	537
South West	459	1,528
Wales	882	3,574
Total	6,388	10,111

Figure 6: Declared salmon and sea trout net and fixed engine catches by area, 2022

EA area or country	Salmon	Sea trout
Anglian	0	58
Midlands	10	0
North East	73	6,961
North West	236	218
South East	0	0
South West	4	88
Wales	233	688
Total	556	8,013

5. River catch summaries by area for rod and net fisheries, 2022

Table 13: North East salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Aln	7	7	100%
Coquet	385	356	92%
Esk Yorkshire	24	19	79%
Ouse Yorkshire	69	69	100%
Tees	11	11	100%
Tyne	2,073	1,932	93%
Wear	636	588	92%
Total	3,205	2,982	93%

Anglian salmon rod catches

There were no salmon rod catches in Anglian area in 2022.

Table 14: South East salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Itchen	80	80	100%
Test	77	76	99%
Total	157	156	99%

Table 15: South West salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Avon Devon	3	3	100%
Avon Hants	48	48	100%
Axe	0	0	no reported catch
Camel	36	36	100%
Dart	1	1	100%
Erme	1	1	100%
Exe	30	29	97%
Fowey	86	84	98%
Frome	24	24	100%
Lyn	9	9	100%
Lynher	43	43	100%
Plym	1	1	100%
Tamar	87	83	95%
Tavy	14	14	100%
Taw	38	38	100%
Teign	25	23	92%
Torridge	12	12	100%
Yealm	0	0	no reported catch
Other	1	1	100%
Total	459	450	98%

Table 16: Midlands salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Severn	61	60	98%
Other	2	2	100%
Total	63	62	98%

Table 17: North West salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Calder	6	6	100%
Crake	9	9	100%
Derwent	217	213	98%
Duddon	36	33	92%
Eden North West	407	407	100%
Ehen	75	62	83%
Ellen	0	0	no reported catch
Esk Border	313	312	100%
Esk Cumbrian	56	56	100%
Irt	66	62	94%
Kent	62	55	89%
Leven	32	32	100%
Lune	174	174	100%
Ribble	156	154	99%
Wyre North West	5	5	100%
Total	1,614	1,580	98%

England total

Total salmon rod catches for 2022:

• salmon caught – 5,498
• salmon released – 5,230
• percentage released – 95%

Table 18: Wales salmon rod catches

River	Salmon caught	Salmon released	Percentage released
Afan	0	0	no reported catch
Artro	0	0	no reported catch
Cleddau	17	17	100%
Clwyd	9	9	100%
Conwy	25	25	100%
Dee	148	148	100%
Dwyfawr	1	1	100%
Dwyryd	2	2	100%
Dyfi/Dovey	26	26	100%
Dysynni	0	0	no reported catch
Glaslyn	3	3	100%
Gwendraeth Fach	1	1	100%
Gwyrfai	0	0	no reported catch
Loughor/Llwchwr	1	1	100%
Mawddach	23	23	100%
Neath	5	5	100%
Nevern	7	7	100%
Ogmore	0	0	no reported catch
Ogwen	3	3	100%
Rheidol	0	0	no reported catch
Seiont	3	3	100%
Taf	6	6	100%
Taff	2	2	100%
Tawe	9	9	100%
Teifi	110	110	100%
Tywi/Towy	192	191	99%
Usk	51	51	100%
Wye	234	234	100%
Ystwyth	2	2	100%
Other	2	2	100%
Total	882	881	100%

Wales total

Total salmon rod catches for 2022:

• salmon caught – 882
• salmon released – 881
• percentage released – 99.9%

England and Wales total

Total salmon rod catches for 2022:

• salmon caught – 6,388
• salmon released – 6,111
• percentage released – 96%

Includes 8 fish from area ‘unknown’.

Table 19: North East sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Aln	14	10	71%
Coquet	187	169	90%
Esk Yorkshire	179	153	85%
Ouse Yorkshire	11	11	100%
Tees	1	1	100%
Tyne	1177	1048	89%
Wear	413	360	87%
Total	1,982	1,752	88%

Anglian sea trout rod catches

There were no sea trout caught in Anglian area in 2022.

Table 20: South East sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Beaulieu	14	12	86%
Itchen	282	277	98%
Lymington	17	17	100%
Ouse Sussex	20	16	80%
Rother Western	9	9	100%
Test	170	134	79%
Thames	0	0	no reported catch
Other	25	20	80%
Total	537	485	90%

Table 21: South West sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Avon Devon	18	18	100%
Avon Hants	89	85	96%
Axe	105	80	76%
Brit	4	4	100%
Camel	172	142	83%
Dart	79	59	75%
Erme	2	2	100%
Exe	12	12	100%
Fowey	195	153	78%
Frome	152	145	95%
Looe	0	0	no reported catch
Lyn	1	1	100%
Lynher	26	26	100%
Otter	36	36	100%
Piddle	0	0	no reported catch
Plym	17	11	65%
Stour (South West)	2	2	100%
Tamar	186	181	97%
Tavy	85	71	84%
Taw	68	61	90%
Teign	212	187	88%
Torridge	62	61	98%
Yealm	0	0	no reported catch
Other	5	5	100%
Total	1,528	1,342	88%

Table 22: Midlands sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Severn	1	1	100%
Other	4	4	100%
Total	5	5	100%

Table 23: North West sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Calder	2	2	100%
Crake	3	2	67%
Derwent	217	215	99%
Duddon	67	64	96%
Eden North West	98	96	98%
Ehen	209	180	86%
Ellen	23	22	96%
Esk Border	594	545	92%
Esk Cumbrian	59	55	93%
Irt	181	177	98%
Kent	238	230	97%
Leven	13	8	62%
Lune	546	498	91%
Ribble	208	197	95%
Wyre North West	12	12	100%
Other	15	14	93%
Total	2,485	2,317	93%

England total

Total sea trout rod catches for 2022:

• sea trout caught – 6,537

• sea trout released – 5,901

• percentage released – 90%

Table 24: Wales sea trout rod catches

River	Sea trout caught	Sea trout released	Percentage released
Aeron	140	108	77%
Afan	28	27	96%
Artro	12	8	67%
Cefni	0	0	no reported catch
Cleddau	43	39	91%
Clwyd	270	236	87%
Conwy	95	89	94%
Dee	176	160	91%
Dwyfach	2	2	100%
Dwyfawr	34	29	85%
Dwyryd	10	10	100%
Dyfi/Dovey	367	337	92%
Dysynni	184	180	98%
Glaslyn	192	174	91%
Gwendraeth Fach	32	25	78%
Gwyrfai	0	0	no reported catch
Llyfni	21	5	24%
Loughor/Llwchwr	16	11	69%
Mawddach	119	114	96%
Neath	70	64	91%
Nevern	112	71	63%
Ogmore	75	72	96%
Ogwen	6	2	33%
Rheidol	34	33	97%
Rhymney	1	1	100%
Seiont	21	20	95%
Taf	18	9	50%
Taff	5	5	100%
Tawe	9	8	89%
Teifi	728	592	81%
Tywi/Towy	670	632	94%
Usk	10	9	90%
Wye	18	18	100%
Ystwyth	42	39	93%
Other	14	10	71%
Total	3,574	3,139	88%

Wales total

Total sea trout rod catches for 2022:

• sea trout caught – 3,574
• sea trout released – 3,139
• percentage released – 88%

England and Wales total

Total sea trout rod catches for 2022:

• sea trout caught – 10,111
• sea trout released – 9,040
• percentage released – 89%

Table 25: North East salmon net catches

River/Fishery	Fishing Method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Northumbria (District 1)	T nets	11	43.54
Yorkshire (District 3-7)	T or J nets	62	217.72
Whole area	Total	73	261.27

Anglian salmon net catches

There were no salmon net catches in the Anglian net fishery in 2022.

South East (Southern) salmon net catches

There was no net fishery in 2022.

Table 26: South West salmon net catches

River/Fishery	Fishing Method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Teign	Seine nets	4	17.92
Whole area	Total	4	17.92

Table 27: Midlands salmon net catches

River/Fishery	Fishing Method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Severn	Lave nets	10	38.56
Whole area	Total	10	38.56

Table 28: North West salmon net catches

River/Fishery	Fishing Method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Lune	Haaf nets	62	267.17
Kent	Lave nets	0	0.00
Leven	Lave nets	0	0.00
Eden and Esk (Solway)	Haaf nets	174	772.47
Eden	Coop traps	0	0.00
Whole area	Total	236	1,039.63

England total

Total salmon net catches for 2022:

• salmon total number: 323
• salmon total weight: 1,357.38kg

Table 29: Wales salmon net catches

River/Fishery	Fishing Method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Wye	Lave nets	0	0.00
Tywi/Towy	Seine nets	22	39.89
Tywi/Towy	Coracle nets	67	295.74
Tywi/Towy	River total	89	389.64
Taf	Wade net	0	0.00
Taf	Coracle nets	1	4.54
Taf	River total	1	4.54
Cleddau (East and West)	Compass nets	1	1.81
Nevern	Seine nets	0	0.00
Teifi	Seine nets	0	0.00
Teifi	Coracle nets	139	626.86
Teifi	River total	139	626.86
Dyfi/Dovey	Seine nets	0	0.00
Dysynni	Seine nets	0	0.00
Mawddach	Seine nets	0	0.00
Conwy	Basket trap	0	0.00
Conwy	Seine nets	3	9.98
Conwy	River total	3	9.98
Whole area	Total	233	1,032.83

Wales total

Total salmon net catches for 2022:

• salmon caught: 233
• salmon total weight: 1,032.83kg

England and Wales total

Total salmon net catches for 2022:

• salmon caught: 556
• salmon total weight: 2,390.21kg

Table 30: North East sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Northumbria (District 1)	T nets	1,085	1,945.54
Yorkshire (District 3-7)	T or J nets	5,876	10,532.19
Whole area	Total	6,961	12,481.73

Table 31: Anglian sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing Method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Coastal	Drift nets	24	29.26
Coastal	Other nets	34	46.04
Whole area	Total	58	75.30

South East (Southern) sea trout net catches

There were no sea trout net catches in the South East (Southern) net fishery in 2022.

Table 32: South West sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing Method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Teign	Seine nets	88	140.84
Whole area	Total	88	140.84

Midlands sea trout net catches

There were no sea trout net catches in the Midlands net fishery in 2022.

Table 33: North West sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Lune	Haaf nets	41	73.03
Kent	Lave nets	0	0.00
Leven	Lave nets	0	0.00
Eden and Esk (Solway)	Haaf nets	177	205.25
Eden	Coop traps	0	0.00
Whole area	Total	218	278.28

England total

Total number of sea trout net catches for 2022:

• sea trout caught: 7,325
• sea trout total weight: 12,978.18kg

Table 34: Wales sea trout net catches

River/fishery	Fishing method	Total number	Total weight (kg)
Tywi/Towy	Seine nets	54	84.73
Tywi/Towy	Coracle nets	147	307.31
Tywi/Towy	River total	201	392.04
Taf	Wade net	0	0.00
Taf	Coracle nets	2	3.18
Taf	River total	2	3.18
Cleddau (East and West)	Compass nets	0	0.00
Nevern	Seine nets	0	0.00
Teifi	Seine nets	1	1.36
Teifi	Coracle nets	456	720.49
Teifi	River total	457	721.85
Dyfi/Dovey	Seine nets	14	34.25
Dysynni	Seine nets	0	0.00
Mawddach	Seine nets	0	0.00
Conwy	Basket trap	0	0.00
Conwy	Seine nets	14	25.63
Conwy	River total	14	25.63
Wales total		688	1,176.94

Wales total

Total number of sea trout nets catches for 2022:

• sea trout total number: 688
• sea trout total weight: 1,176.94kg

England and Wales total

Total number of sea trout nets catches for 2022:

• sea trout total number: 8,013
• sea trout total weight: 14,155.12kg

6. Eel, smelt, and lamprey catches

The Environment Agency issues 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 authorised to fish. Elver fishing is restricted to certain locations with fishers only authorised to use handheld dip nets.

Adult eel fishing was authorised between 01 April and 10 December 2022. Elver fishers were authorised to fish between:

• 15 February and 22 April 2022 for the River Parrett fishery
• 16 March and 25 May 2022 for the River Severn fishery

Smelt and lamprey fishing

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

Smelt fishing is generally authorised between February and 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 limited by fishing effort.

The fishing season for river lamprey is between November and 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 35: Adult eel fishery – method, number of instruments, value and catch, 2022 season

There were 34 authorised eel fishers in 2022.

The following table is based on an incomplete dataset.

Method	Number of instruments	Value (£)	Caught (kg)
Small wingless traps	150	378	0
Fyke nets	1,190	2,510	26,416
Fixed traps	2	230	147
Total	1,342	3,118	26,563

Table 36: Elver fishery – number of nets, value and catch, 2022 season

There were 170 authorised elver fishers in 2022.

Number of dip nets	Value (£)	Caught (kg)
170	14,450	1,120

Table 37: Lamprey fishery – number of pots, value and catch, 2022 season

There were 2 authorised lamprey fishers in 2022.

Method	Number of instruments	Value (£)	Caught (kg)
Pot traps	60	160	1,057

Table 38: Smelt fishery – number of instruments, value and catch, 2022 season

There were 2 authorised smelt fishers in 2022.

Number of pots/fyke nets	Value (£)	Caught (kg)
292	240	540