Publication Abstract

Salmon and migratory trout statistics for England and Wales, 1951-1990

I.C. Russell, M.J. Ives, E.C.E. Potter, A.A. Buckley and L. Duckett

Catch statistics provide one of the fundamental means for formulating management policies in respect of salmon and sea trout stocks at local, national and international levels. This is not to imply that these data reliably reflect stock abundance or are in themselves always accurate or complete records of catches; indeed this is generally not the case. However, in the absence of other direct measures, they frequently represent the only available information on the state of a stock and, when compiled in a consistent manner over a number of years, may be indicative of long term trends in stock abundance. For the fishery manager they also provide a direct measure of the varying success of a fishery. This historical review has been compiled with the aim of establishing an authoritative long-term data base for salmon and sea trout catches in England and Wales.

Although reliable records of salmon catches for some rivers date back over a century, the overall national catch record, even in relatively recent years, is notable for its inaccuracies, inconsistencies and omissions. In some areas rigorous efforts have been made to compile catch data since 1951, the period covered by this review. However, in other areas collection procedures have been haphazard, particularly early in this period. The collation of national totals from these differing sources has thus been very difficult.

Prior to 1983, a variety of organisations were responsible for collating an annual set of statistics for England and Wales. From 1951 to 1973 a very brief summary of the data was included in the Association of River Authorities (formerly River Boards) Annual Reports (see References), and, following the reorganisation of the Water Industry in 1974, a similar summary was compiled by the Department of the Environment for publication in its `Water Data' series and later in its `Digest of Environmental Pollution and Water Statistics' (see References). In 1981, the statistics were compiled and published in a more comprehensive manner by the Fisheries Advisory Committee of the National Water Council (National Water Council, 1982). In 1982, however, the NWC was disbanded and agreement reached that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) Directorate of Fisheries Research (DFR) should take over collation of the data with effect from the 1983 season. As an interim arrangement, the staff of the Fisheries Department of Northumbrian Water Authority agreed to collect and publish the statistics for 1982 on behalf of the NWC (Northumbrian Water, 1983). From 1983 to 1990 the annual catch statistics were collated by DFR. Data for 1983 to 1988 inclusive have appeared in the DFR Fisheries Research Data Report Series (see References), while since 1989 data have been published as National Rivers Authority (NRA) reports (see References). The NRA continue to be responsible for the collation and publication of the annual catch statistics. In taking on the compilation and publication of the annual salmon and migratory trout catch statistics, DFR recognised that improvements in the collection and reporting procedures were essential, and initiated a programme to bring this about (see, for example, Russell and Buckley, 1989).

An inevitable consequence of the past changes in responsibilities for collating the data has been the publication of discrepant and widely differing sets of statistics, to the obvious detriment of the historical record. Much of the impetus, therefore, for the publication of this data review has been the need to establish a single authoritative data set as a foundation on which to build for the future. This has served not only the function of validating the available data in as much detail as possible, but has also helped to identify the major problems and sources of error in past catch data and assisted in planning future improvements.

Historic migratory salmonid catches in respect of Scotland have already been published (DAFS, 1984), for the period 1952-1981 and annual statistical bulletins have also been produced each year since 1982 (DAFS, 1984 to 1990, Scottish Office, 1991 to 1994).

This report reviews catch data for England and Wales for the period 1951-90 inclusive; 1951 being the year in which the regional River Boards were first formed and from which time catch data were collected and reported on a fairly regular basis for most regions. No attempt has been made to analyse or interpret the statistics: the aim of this review has been to collate the best available data set for the period and to record those factors most likely to have influenced catches during this time.

Reference:

I.C. Russell, M.J. Ives, E.C.E. Potter, A.A. Buckley and L. Duckett, 1995. Salmon and migratory trout statistics for England and Wales, 1951-1990. Data Report, MAFF Directorate of Fisheries Research, Lowestoft, 38: 252pp.