Call to anglers for crucial help in managing salmon and sea trout stocks

Make sure you get your migratory salmonid catch return in before the end of December

The Environment Agency is calling on salmon and sea trout anglers in England and Wales to ensure they send in their catch return before the end of December. Zero returns are also important even if you did not end up fishing but had a licence.

Catch returns provide crucial information for fisheries management, as they specify the number of days an angler fished, the methods used, what was caught and whether or not it was released.

The Environment Agency's Godfrey Williams said: “Anglers’ rod catch records provide really important data. The statistics help us better understand the numbers of fish returning to spawn in the 70 or so principal salmon and sea trout rivers England and Wales. It also helps us more effectively target our work with local fisheries groups to protect and improve stocks.”

On some rivers catch records go back as far as the 1800’s providing vital information about the health, size and distribution of salmon and sea trout over time.
The Environment Agency wants all salmon and sea trout anglers to send in accurate returns. The data is important even if they fished, but didn’t catch or if they bought a licence in 2011 but didn’t get round to wetting a line.

Godfrey added: “We want to thank everyone who has already sent in their return - but every angler has a part to play in helping to monitor and protect salmon and sea trout. Under-reporting can lead to a false impression of how stocks are performing and could result in unnecessary restrictions on anglers, while over-reporting could lead to stocks being under-protected.”

It is very easy to submit a catch return, which includes numbers of days fished, methods used, and whether or not fish were released.

The forms are available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/catchreturn

Completed forms can be emailed to salmon_licensing@environment-agency.gov.uk or posted to the freepost address Freepost RRZB-RBXL-AYUB, Fisheries Permitting Team, Environment Agency, Bromholme Lane, Brampton, Cambridgeshire, PE28 4NE.