Merged Data Hides Differences in the Catch Trends of Scottish Salmon

Abstract

Numbers of salmon returning to Scottish rivers from their marine feeding grounds have fallen overall since at least 1971 [1]. This has led to widespread concerns about the poor state of wild salmon populations around Scotland [2]. These concerns have grown in recent years with [3-5] all showing total annual catches of Atlantic salmon have declined significantly in rivers in the NW Highlands. Recreational rod catch data recorded by Marine Scotland, however, hints at a more complex picture of Scottish salmon which appear to have been relatively stable overall between 1950 and 2010 (Figure 1).