Assessing the status of British wild brown trout, Salmo trutta, stocks: a pilot study utilizing data from game fisheries

• Published in: Freshwater Biology
• Main Author: GILES, N.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1989
• Subjects: Giles; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1989.tb01353.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2427.1989.tb01353.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1989.tb01353.x

SUMMARY. 1. This paper describes an analysis of results from a questionnaire (Giles, 1987) which requested information on the status of game fish stocks (especially wild brown trout Salmo trutta L.) from those Game Conservancy members who own or manage fisheries. Also included are data arising from fishery log book records which are used to indicate trends in brown trout catch per unit effort (CPUE) over past decades. 2. The key finding from questionnaire returns was the widespread reporting of apparent declines of wild brown trout stocks in a total of twenty‐seven sites throughout Britain. The affected waters are geographically widespread from the south‐west of England through southern and south‐east England, south Wales, northern England and Scotland including the Western Isles. Suspected stock declines of migratory (sea) trout, salmon Salmo salar L. and grayling Thymallus thymallus L. were also reported. Where brown trout occur alone, a significantly higher proportion of questionnaire returns recorded a stock decline compared with fisheries containing both brown and rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri Richardson. 3. Trout catch records from a small selection of differing fishery types are presented and the value of such data in fish stock assessment is discussed.