Historical salmon (Salmo salar) catches in the Elbe catchment since the 16th century according to historical sources and recent catch data

Until the middle of the 20th century, the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was an important migratory fish species in the Elbe River. Its decline and disappearance from the river and its tributaries during the last century can be seen as an indication of changes in the river habitat. Here we provide a georeferenced database on historical and recent Atlantic salmon catches in the Elbe River and its tributaries created by a literature review. The database consists of documented catches from secondary sources between 1432 and 2021 and also includes information about spatio-temporal inaccuracies.