Impact of catch and release angling practices on survival of salmon

This report is an independent literature review undertaken by the Hull International Fisheries Institute to identify measures to maximise the survival of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) caught and released by anglers. The review employed electronic search engines, including Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus, to identify scientific literature and other materials related to catch and release (C&R) fishing, with specific focus on salmonid species. The searches also used the snowballing strategy to pick up non-indexed sources of literature, especially grey literature. The adoption of C&R practices by anglers has resulted in a reduction in exploitation of salmon by rod fisheries over the past 2 decades; the percentage of fish being released by those fishing with a rod reached 79% in 2015 compared with just 10% in 1993. For C&R to be an effective fisheries management tool, released fish must survive and go on to successfully reproduce. Studies in Atlantic salmon have demonstrated that survival rates following catch and release angling can be high. There is also evidence that sub-lethal impacts, such as impaired breeding performance, are also low. This supports catch and release as a viable fisheries management approach for reducing the exploitation of salmon by rod fisheries. Click here to access the report.