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/en/jord-skog-jakt-og-fiskeri/statistikker/elvefiske/aar
257005
Decrease in river catch of salmon
statistikk
2017-01-27T08:00:00.000Z
Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing
en
elvefiske, River catch, rivers, catch and releaseFishing , Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing
true
The statistics refer to salmon, sea trout and migratory char caught in Norwegian rivers. In 2016, 180 300 fish were caught, of which 79 per cent were slaughtered and 21 per cent were caught and released.

River catch, 2016, preliminary figures

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Published:

Next release:

Final figures will be published about two months later.

Decrease in river catch of salmon

In 2016, 180 300 salmon, sea trout and migratory char were caught in Norwegian rivers, which is 9 per cent less than in 2015. Of these, 79 per cent were slaughtered and 21 per cent were caught and released.

River catch of salmon, sea trout and migratory char. Preliminary figuresPublished 27 January 2017
20162015 - 20162013 - 20162016
KiloChange, per centChange, per centNumber
Slaughtered fish
Total392 934-3.717.5143 305
Salmon, total343 019-2.720.894 874
Salmon, less tha 3 kg79 640-26.6-12.348 766
Salmon, 3-7 kg162 7662.939.834 945
Salmon, 7 kg and over100 61317.231.111 163
Sea trout and migratory char49 915-10.3-0.848 431
 
Caught and released fish
Total128 38014.380.936 954
Salmon, total117 17413.289.425 206
Salmon, less than 3 kg14 668-28.417.49 186
Salmon, 3-7 kg50 63620.3129.710 368
Salmon, 7 kg and over51 87026.789.75 652
Sea trout and migratory char11 20627.823.211 748

Source: Statistics Norway

Figure 1. River fishing of salmon

* = preliminary figures

The slaughtered catch amounted to 393 tonnes, consisting of 343 tonnes of salmon and 50 tonnes of sea trout and migratory char. Compared with 2015, the decrease was 3 per cent for salmon and 10 per cent for the two other species. 

The average weight of salmon caught, but not released, was 3.6 kg in 2016, compared with 3.3 kg in 2015. Fifty-one per cent of the salmon weighed less than 3 kg, 37 per cent between 3 and 7 kg and 12 per cent above 7 kg.

Tana still on top

Tana and its tributaries was the most important river system in 2016 in terms of fish caught, with a total catch of 38.6 tonnes. This is 0.3 tonnes more than in 2015. Next in line were Gaulavassdraget and Namsenvassdraget. The ranking of the rivers is based on the total catch, including catch and release.

More catch and release

In 2016, 25 200 salmon and 11 700 sea trout and migratory char were caught and released into the river again. In this respect, Gaula and Orkla were the most important rivers, with catch and release of 2 800 and 2 500 fish respectively. 

Nevertheless, Finnmark was the county where most fish were released into the rivers again; in total 6 000 salmon and 1 600 sea trout and migratory char. Next in line were Sør-Trøndelag and Nordland. 

The average weight for catch and release salmon was 4.6 kg, and for sea trout and migratory char 1.0 kg.