Further increase in sea catch of salmon

Published:

The total catch of wild salmon and sea trout in Norwegian fjords amounted to 273 tonnes in 2016. This is 36 tonnes, or 15 per cent, more than in 2015.

The average weight of salmon was 4.6 kg in 2016, compared with 4.1 kg the year before. Fourteen per cent of the salmon caught weighed under 3 kg, 59 per cent was between 3 and 7 kg and 27 per cent was over 7 kg.

Figure 1

Figure 1. Sea catch of salmon and sea trout. Municipalities with the biggest catch

Increase in Finnmark catch

Finnmark is the most important county for sea catches of salmon, with a total catch of 134 tonnes in 2016. This is an increase of 50 per cent compared with the year before, and made up half of the total salmon catch in Norway. Sør-Trøndelag had the biggest drop, to 19 tonnes in 2016, nearly halved from the year before. Variations in catches are connected to the fishing regulations and the return of salmon to the rivers.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Sea catch of salmon and sea trout. Counties

Catch of escaped farmed fish

In the coastal counties from Rogaland to Troms, fishing for escaped farmed fish is permitted. The time period for this type of fishing is between 5 August and 28 February.

The total catch in 2015/2016 was 8.6 tonnes, of which 8.5 tonnes were salmon and 0.1 tonnes were sea trout. The average weight for salmon was 3.5 kg, and 2.8 kg for sea trout.

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