BICENTENARY BOOK

The River Tweed Commissioners were first formed by Act of Parliament in 1807. To mark 200 years of fisheries managment and as part of the celebrations to commemorate its bicentenary, the River Tweed Commission (RTC) has published a brief history of the organisation, written by Mrs Caroline Balfour who is one of the Commissioners.

'The Early Days of the River Tweed Commissioners' is the result of many months hard work and traces the beginnings of the RTC  up to the first Tweed Act of 1807 specifically endowing it with various powers to manage the River. The book provides a fascinating account of the lawlessness which was rife on the River up to the 1700s and how a few dedicated men sought to regulate and nurture their prime asset - the Salmon.
 
The formation of the RTC was largely due to the dedication and energy of one man: John Southey, 5th Lord Somerville, who lived at Pavilion near Melrose and who corresponded, and fished, with his great friend in the Borders, Sir Walter Scott.

For a flavour of the book, part of the Introduction is reproduced below:
 
In February, 1808,  John, 15th Lord Somerville wrote to his friend and fishing crony, Walter Scott: I hope to hear that our labours will be better supported in future than in the Tweed Act they have been  one drawling, drivelling doubter will make a hundred like sheep at a ford. Even for a fairly immoderate character such as Somerville this was heartfelt stuff and a fine example of the rages, passions, practicalities and pressures that surrounded the legislation of the Tweed Salmon fisheries in the early nineteenth century.  A not very large group of men, with, one suspects, a very large collection of motives worked, bullied, networked and cajoled in order to bring into being and force a method for protecting the upstream migration of the river’s Salmon.  Protectionism was, for sure, one of the motives at play, but there were many others.  Somerville, one of the prime movers, seems to have found attempts to improve upon nature’s dispositions almost irresistible.  Whatever their motives and their disagreements, they did agree on one thing;  the necessity of prevention of the many and great abuses committed in the river in order to protect the Salmon stocks.  We live today with the results of their work.

Copies of the Book are available from the RTC Office (01896 848294) and from selected fishing tackle shops in the Borders.
Price £7.50 or £10 including p&p
 
All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to The Tweed Foundation in support of its scientific and research work on Tweed freshwater fish stocks.