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download whole report RTC Ann Rep 2007.pdf (1.9 mb)
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
If my Committee is any marker, we anglers have many theories about how much water and weather conditions affect fish catch numbers (and there is no doubt that weather patterns and water flows were distinctly odd in 2007). There is no doubt also that they affect which beats do well and which do not; there is no consensus that I could detect on whether they affect the overall catch on a large and varied river such as ours.
We have now completed five years of catches since the North East Drift Net Fishery reduction/buyout, and the five year rod catch has settled down at around 14,500 salmon and grilse. The 2007 rod catch of 16,185 is right at the upper range of catches (the word “record” is for statisticians and other sportsmen, not for river managers). I detect no crowing whatever here, just a realisation that we need luck as well as diligence and skill, and we all know that nature is fickle. I might well be reporting disappointing figures next year for 2008 for no reason that we can now predict or subsequently determine.
At the risk of sticking my neck out, the general consensus is that in 2007 spring stocks were a little disappointing, summer stocks about average and that we do have a very large run of late summer and autumn grilse, who seem to be prevailing over the larger autumn multi-sea-winter fish, which are still there but apparently in fewer numbers as compared to the 1980s and early 1990s. As with other rivers, we saw a lot of “red vent syndrome” especially amongst grilse, but less of the “skinny” grilse than in 2006. Although both are concerning and we are in no way complacent, it is difficult for us to treat either as critical when we also had very large numbers of seriously robust grilse and autumn fish in as good condition as anyone could wish.
Moralising about fishing is not part of my remit, but I do worry that fishing effort purely in pursuit of numbers is in danger of demeaning not only the sport of fishing but will deter many anglers who take a more relaxed view. Opinions vary widely on the effect of the Fishtweed website and the catch figures on the “Week so far” page; some love it, some hate it. What is certain is that fishing effort now as compared to the immediate post-war decades may be a factor of two, three or four, in terms not only of rod numbers but also hours spent on the river. It is for this reason, more than the vagaries of weather and water, that I would not want to draw too many conclusions about the rod catch in 2007 when comparing it to other prolific years of the past.
My remit most definitely, and uniquely among (mainly) Scottish rivers, does include other freshwater fish and because brown trout and sea trout are mainly fished for in the summer months, which were plagued by floods from the extraordinarily wet summer, there is no discernible evidence that I know of from angling effort (except that there appear to have been good stocks of big sea trout from the angling effort that was possible in June and July). Tweed is becoming famous for its prolific and big grayling, but similarly incessant floods over the recent winter months have meant that fishing has been almost impossible.
I commend the rest of the Report that follows as essential reading. I will comment only briefly on two highlights.
First, we all enjoyed the celebrations at Abbotsford for 2007 as our bicentenary year (and a very readable and learned book by Caroline Balfour on “The Early Days of the Tweed Commissioners”), which came as something of a surprise to those who believed us to be a “fly by night” organisation with no historic substance!
Secondly, it was also the year in which we implemented our new powers over stocking throughout the catchment and we have developed a policy, the effect of this being that there will be no stocking of any kind in “open” waters. Our selling point is that for all fish we are an exclusively wild fish fishery and that we have no hatchery fish of any kind (which has been the case for salmon for some decades now and is now the case for brown trout as well).
The RTC finances remain securely based, the more so since the surplus for 2007 as reported on page 10 was £73,470. Much of this surplus is a result of provision being made for necessary expenditure in the 2007 budget which had not happened by the end of the year. We still believe this expenditure likely to happen and it is being carried forward to 2008 in the resulting budgeted deficit for that year.
As ever, none of this River's continuing solid achievement is possible without the time and commitment of the Committee, the 81 Commissioners and the RTC staff and water bailiffs and the Tweed Foundation biologists, all of whom have been heroic in their efforts towards a very busy and successful year, and I cannot thank all of them enough for their work and support
RTC BICENTENARY
2007 marked the two hundredth anniversary of the setting up of The River Tweed Commissioners in 1807. To mark the occasion, the Commission published a book “It will be stoutly opposed, but our cause is good - The Early Days of the Tweed Commissioners”, researched from the Commission's archives and written by Caroline Balfour, herself a Commissioner. The book describes the years running up to 1807 and the machinations of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Sommerville who were the prime movers of the 1807 Act. The 1807 Act received royal ascent in April of that year but it was not until August 1st that the Commissioners met for the first time at the Collingwood Arms in Cornhill-on-Tweed. On August 1st 2007 the Collingwood Arms was being refurbished so the Tweed Committee met in the house of Mrs Leschalles nearby exactly 200 years to the day. Later, on September 3rd, the full Commission met in the library of Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott, and afterwards hosted a reception and luncheon for local dignitaries, politicians and others who work with the Commission. Addresses were made by Mr Richard Wakeford (the Scottish Government), the Commission Chairman, Mr Andrew Douglas-Home, and The Earl Haig proposed a toast to the Commission.
LEGISLATION
Subordinate Order
In 2007 the Tweed Regulation Order came into force on the 15th February, bringing together the subordinate legislation applying to the Tweed District and created no new offences. It makes for provision of closed times, the prohibition of sale of rod-caught fish, the marking of boats, definition of fishing methods, restriction on the use of baits and lures, maintaining Protection Order provision and re-stating the obligation on operators in respect of dams and off-takes to ensure the free passage of fish.
POLICY
During the year the Commission discussed and adopted two important policies. Firstly, following powers given in the 2006 River Tweed Order, a policy on the movement of live fish was adopted. In Scotland, exceptionally in Great Britain, there is no requirement to seek permission to move live fish. Live fish movement controls have existed in England and Wales for some years and new powers have been granted, but not enacted, in Scotland. In the recent Tweed Order the Commission was empowered to control fish movements and adopted a policy to do so. The policy recognises the position previously adopted by the Commission that from 2008 all the rivers of the Tweed District should be comprised of wild fisheries only and that there should be no stocking of “open” waters; stocking of “secure” waters from which fish cannot escape to the rivers is permitted so long as either the fish introduced cannot breed or are already present.
Also, a policy for Natural Biodiversity was adopted by the Commission. Biodiversity is receiving much attention both nationally and internationally and the Commission's policy sets out clearly its own position which is to nurture the natural species of the Tweed and to resist wherever it can the introduction of exotic species which could upset the balance of nature in and around the River. Mindful of this, the Commission agreed to develop its own contingency plan, to be developed over the next three years, in the event that the parasite Gyrodactylus salaris ever reaches the waters of Tweed.
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR TROUT ANGLING
A new Code of Practice for Trout Angling was introduced with agreement with the Federation of Borders Angling Associations. The Code describes reasonable behaviour and practice when fishing Tweed and its tributaries for trout particularly where salmon angling is also practiced in the same locality
VALUATION REVIEW
Consultants were appointed during the year to review The System of Assessment as required by the Tweed Order, it having been five years since this was last done. All fishery proprietors are required by the Order to give whatever information the Commission requires to make the Assessment and, accordingly, a questionnaire was sent to collect relevant information. The consultants, CKD Galbraith, having considered the evidence collected, presented their findings to the Commission in December which requested that further consideration be given to the system of discounts granted to the Tributaries. It was agreed to maintain the current system for a further, sixth, year in 2008.
SUNDAY FISHING
Whilst it is illegal to fish for salmon on Sundays on Tweed it is not illegal to fish for other freshwater fish. However it is general, but not universal, practice for the Angling Associations (to whom most brown trout fishing is leased by landowners) not to allow Sunday fishing. The Commission discussed this and accepted advice from the Water Bailiff team that Sunday fishing would not present an unacceptably increased level of illegal fishing; it agreed that it was not opposed to Sunday fishing for trout and grayling in principle if the Angling Associations wish to introduce it, so long as they provided adequate numbers of wardens for policing
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FISH CATCHES
Salmon
20,990 salmon were caught in 2007 of which 4,805 were caught by nets and 16,185 by rod and line. Whilst this total is the highest since records began in 1952 catches were variable in comparison to the five year average. Catches by coastal nets were significantly down from 528 in 2006 to 423, against a five year average of 606, whilst in-river nets had a much greater catch of 4,382, against 2,558 in 2006 and a five year average of 2,649.
Likewise, rod catches were variable. Upper Tweed and Ettrick both had reduced catches despite there being good numbers of fish present. Some beats managed to meet an average catch but most had reduced catches. On Middle Tweed, Teviot and the Till catches were stable and roughly the same as both those of 2006 and the five year average. Beats from St Boswells to Ettrick junction generally had a better than average year whilst those below St Boswells had a lower catch. On Lower Tweed most beats, with only a few exceptions, had a much better than average year with three beats catching more than 1,000 fish each. Beats nearer the bottom of the River had an average or near average year.
The variability of catches in different parts of the River was almost certainly due to water flows. The Spring catch of 2,051 (down approximately 10% to June 30th, see below) was associated with low water flows at that time. Thereafter summer flows were higher than usual but followed by a much drier autumn with no significant rainfall until the end of November which certainly favoured some lower beats which achieved very high catches. Overall the catch was very high with exceptionally large numbers of fish being reported in many parts of the River.
Red Vent Syndrome
A noticeable feature, mainly of the grilse run, was a condition termed “Red Vent Syndrome”. This has been observed in salmon from many rivers around the UK and is widespread in sea fish. It is associated with a nematode worm, usually Anisakis spp., which infests the fish's internal organs. Red vents were common during the summer and were related to some “pods” of fish returning to the River rather than universally distributed amongst all fish. The condition had largely disappeared by the autumn run.
Sea-Trout
3,926 sea-trout were caught in the 2007 season (4,661 in 2006), of which 2,282 were by net and 1,644 by rod. The rod catch was approximately the same as 2006 and well above the five year average whilst the net catch was reduced both on 2006 and the five year average. Although 2007 was slightly poorer for sea-trout it does seem that the downwards trend noted in 2004/5 has halted and that catches may have stabilised.
Other Freshwater Fish
The brown trout situation was very difficult to assess in 2007. During April and May the weather was reasonable and, as usual, there were good reports from the lower end of the River. There were also reports of some very big trout being caught. It is interesting however that in one competition that had a very good result most of the fish, and the biggest fish, were caught on worm. Catch returns from the Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative show that increased catches were generally on the tributaries and Upper Tweed, while those on Middle and Lower Tweed remained unchanged.
From June onwards it rained almost constantly to the end of the season. The rivers were high and higher but not the flood conditions that worm fishers like. They were also subject to short-term fluctuations. There were many days when the rivers were unfishable for trout.
There were the usual reports of plenty of grayling although less were caught than in previous years: grayling being harder to catch in the coloured water conditions typical of 2007.
One interesting thing that was reported over most of the catchment was the big hatches of Olive-type flies in late October and the healthy rises of trout they generated. This has been seen over the past few years and may indicate a change in seasons.
Electro-fishing over the tributaries of the Teviot showed a healthy population of juvenile trout. The dilemma was knowing how many were brown trout that would actually stay in the River, or sea-trout that would vanish.
Pink Salmon
On 21st July, a male Pink Salmon (Oncorhychus gorbuscha, also known as a Humpback Salmon) of 55cms in length (4-5lbs) was caught in the Tweed at Boleside; another was caught at Norham in August which was released. Although they belong to a Pacific Salmon species these fish are thought to have come from Russia.
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SPRING SALMON CONSERVATION
As in previous years, the Tweed Spring Salmon Conservation Measures continued to the end of June with the express aim of conserving this special stock of fish. Individual anglers are invited to return their first salmon caught unharmed to the river with the possibility of keeping alternate fish caught thereafter. This method allows the majority of fish to be returned which meets the spawning escapement required for the Spring stock. Anglers who participate and have their catch verified by a boatman are able to claim up to three rewards (sweatshirts, poloshirts or badges) in a season from the Commission.
The Catch Returns to the end of June indicate that the spring catch was down on the two last years by some 200 fish. This was unsurprising, given that the beginning of the season was very dry followed by unseasonable warm weather in April and then consistently high water levels throughout June. As in previous years the Commission paid compensation to in-river nets, all of whom agreed not to fish before 1st June.
Of the spring rod catch of 2,051 salmon, 1,401 were returned (68%). This is 2% better than last year's return rate, despite the smaller catch. A further 8,409 fish (60%) were returned from July to the end of the season. Overall 61% of all fish were returned. Research by the Tweed Foundation, conducted when the Measures were introduced, showed that less than 3% of returned spring fish were recaptured.
CAULDS
Glebe Cauld, Jed Water
More meetings took place during the year with local community leaders and Jedburgh Angling Association to find a solution to difficult fish passage at this cauld. It was agreed that a new central fish pass was required and that this should be dealt with as a separate issue from the eroding right hand bank. A consultant's report to provide detail of the pass was commissioned but was not complete by the year end.
Murray Cauld, Ettrick Water
No progress was made by the owners of the Murray Cauld to repair it so deterioration continued and yet more of the apron collapsed during the year. Unfortunately the fish counter suffered a lightning strike in the early part of the summer which meant that incomplete figures of fish passing up the Ettrick were collected for the year. However it does seem that many fewer fish ran the fish pass during the year.
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SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Illegal activity was much reduced in the early months of the year with just 36 nets being recovered from the Berwick estuary to the end of March, compared to a figure of 63 nets for the same period in 2006. Water conditions improved through March and we witnessed the return of the habitual offenders to the beaches with 26 nets being recovered in this month alone. It was also noted that a number of fish in the double figures by weight were being caught by rod and line further upstream at the same time indicating a good early run.
In April and May waters dropped to almost summer levels and few fish were seen to enter the system. Whilst this had the effect of reducing activity in the estuary, fish already entered became held up at the known low flow 'choke' points necessitating regular monitoring. During the course of these observations it became apparent that whilst activity in Berwick might be considered generally in decline, a number of the more 'proficient' local and travelling poachers were active on the lower river stretches. Whilst there were fewer of these individuals than the Berwick 'regulars', the damage they could have inflicted on the River was far greater due to their expertise and the methods employed. River nets were often set in multiples, concealed and left set to catch as many fish as possible whereas estuary nets were characteristically set for an opportunistic catch and then retrieved later. The persons involved were well known to the bailiff team and were observed on frequent occasions in the vicinity of the river and required 'chaperoning' from the area. In addition, as a result of surveillance operations, a number of arrests were made and prosecutions taken.
There were a total of 113 nets recovered for the year, predominantly from the Berwick beaches. This was the lowest annual total in 11 years and is attributed to the efforts of the bailiff team (which was back to full strength from May), the prosecution skill of the RTC's solicitor and the penalties awarded by the Courts. Particularly effective was the issue of Prohibition Orders restricting individuals from approaching the river within 25 metres. There were 13 cases submitted for prosecution: eight to the Magistrates and five to the Procurator Fiscals.
In addition to the cases submitted for prosecution by the RTC, a number of salmon poaching cases were submitted by Lothian and Borders Constabulary. Two training seminars were given to Police Officers early in the year which enabled them to recognise poaching equipment and methods as well as bringing about an increased awareness of salmon poaching as a wildlife crime. It is planned to hold further training sessions in the coming year and this training will also be offered to the Northumbria Police Force. Of particular relevance is the improved working relationship with the Police following the reorganisation of the force control structure and we continued to work towards improved communications, transfer of information and collaborative, intelligence-led operations.
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TWEED FOUNDATION
The Commission remains reliant upon the objective and scientific advice that it receives from the Tweed Foundation. In 2007 it allocated 16% of its budget to the Foundation for the provision of such advice. During the year, in addition to the advice received in the formulation of its policies above, the Foundation was active in a number of important areas.
Electro-fishing
In 2007 a new Fry Index methodology was adopted as the primary method of monitoring juvenile salmon and trout in the Tweed and Eye District. An important advantage over the old method of electro-fishing (known as quantitative electro-fishing) is that many more sites can be surveyed each summer giving a much greater coverage of the catchment thus identifying problem areas more readily. In 2007 surveys were conducted on the Teviot, Till, Eden and Leet catchments.
Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative
The Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative's (TTGI) first three year phase, principally funded by the Scottish Borders European Union Leader + Programme, came to a close at the end of 2007. Funding from a variety of partners, including The Fishmongers' Company, The Grayling Society, the Wild Trout Trust, The Tweed Foundation, Scottish Natural Heritage and, of course, the local Angling Clubs and Associations has helped to kick-start this work. The TTGI provides knowledge about fish stocks and their habitats which can be used by angling associations and others to provide exploitation regimes and other management that has hitherto been lacking.
Results of the Initiative can be read at:
http://www.ttgi.org.uk
Further information about the Tweed Foundation and details of membership can be obtained from:-
http://www.tweedfoundation.org.uk
Tweed News is reported on the joint RTC and Tweed Foundation website at:
http://www.rivertweed.org.uk
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