§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the number of angler-caught(a) salmon, (b) grilse and (c) sea trout caught in England in each of the last five years; and what his estimate is of the number of each of these three categories of fish taken by seals in English waters in each of these years. [128827]
384W
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 3 July 2000]: The table sets out the figures for rod-caught salmon, grilse and sea trout caught in England in the last five years. The figures include fish caught and released.
Declared rod catch for English waters Year Salmon1 Grilse1 Sea trout 1995 3,202 8,658 16,581 1996 4,066 7,910 16,562 1997 2,441 6,984 16,228 1998 2,152 10,619 23,911 19992 2,686 6,449 22,209 1Numbers of salmon and grilse estimated from age/weight keys and the size distribution of fish caught in principal salmon rivers 2Provisional figures No estimate is available of the number of these species of fish taken by seals in English waters. The predominant species targeted by seals are known to be cod, whiting and sandeels. Nationally, salmon, grilse and sea trout form a very small part of seal diet.