Sharp decline in fishing tourism so far this year

Recreational fishermen caught 2.6 million fish in Norway last year. So far this year, catches of 16,000 fish have been reported.

Since 2018, tourist fishing companies have had to report both trips and catches to the Directorate of Fisheries. In 2019, 111,740 trips and catches of just over 2.4 million fish were registered. So far in 2020, 706 trips and catches of 16,000 fish have been reported.

In the case, which was first mentioned by Kyst og Fjord, it is emphasized that delayed reporting from the tourist fishing companies can give misleading figures.

General manager Bjørn Tore Zahl in Saltstraumen pier, who is engaged in tourist fishing, tells NRK that he is not surprised by the numbers.

– “We notice the decline well. We have almost 100 percent decline in foreign tourists,” he says.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today