Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board

Annual Report 2012 / 13

ANNUAL REPORT 2012/ 13

CONTENTS PAGE

Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board Members and Staff 2 Chairman’s Report 3 2013 Report 6 Fish Counter Results 2013 23 Summer Water Temperatures in Tributaries. Are they a problem? 27 Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013 34 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Proprietors 2012 36 Report of the Auditors to the Proprietors of Salmon Fisheries in the Tay District 40 Tay Salmon Catch Graphs 1952 – 2013 46 Board Members Attendance 2012 47 Acknowledgements 47

1 TAY DISTRICT SALMON FISHERIES BOARD

Chairman

William Jack (Mandatory for Viscount Stormont)

Members Elected by Upper Proprietors

W. Lindsay (Mandatory for Taymount Timeshare) A. Riddell T. Steuart-Fothringham W. Jackson (Mandatory for Derculich (Strathtay) Ltd)

Members Elected by Lower Proprietors

D. Godfrey (Mandatory for Tay Salmon Fishing Company Ltd)

Co-opted Members

Representatives of Salmon Anglers J. Wood S. Mannion D. Brown S. Furniss J. Young (Tay Ghillies Association)

Board Staff Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board, Site 6, Cromwellpark, Almondbank, Perth, PH1 3LW

Clerk Telephone Inga McGown 01738 583733, mobile 07786 361784 Email: [email protected]

Fisheries Director Dr David Summers 01738 583733, mobile 07974 360787 Email: [email protected]

Tay Foundation Development Manager Lorna Birse-Stewart 01738 583733, mobile 07912 389067 Email: [email protected] Bailiff staff Lee Fisher (Operations Manager) 07748 968919 Craig Duncan 07748 338667 David Ross 07974 360789 Ron Whytock 07967 709457 Ross Pirie 07971 695115

Kelt Reconditioning Unit Steve Keay 01738 583755

Websites www.fishthetay.co.uk www.tdsfb.org

2 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2013

2013 was an extraordinary season in many respects. The spring was among the best fishing we have seen for many years and the month of May will probably have the highest recorded catch since monthly records were started in 1952.

Low cold water helped the fishing effort but there was a substantial increase in the number of fish running our system as evidenced, not simply by the catches but, fish counter numbers way above the long term average.

The summer, however, was quite a different story. The low cold water of the spring turned into low very warm water throughout July and August and the first part of September.

Water temperatures of 70+ oF were the norm in the main stem for almost three months and as a result, the fish did not come forward. This, coupled with a lack of grilse, made for very difficult fishing indeed. When the fish did come from mid September on, they came in good numbers and in good size.

I wish to thank all anglers who supported catch and release during the year. It is clear that the vast majority see the need for conservation, which is especially true for spring salmon but, like me, many were more than just disappointed to see a beautiful 30lbs+ springer caught on Loch Tay, photographed and displayed on the internet hanging dead on a meat hook.

Fish of this quality have become so scarce and so valuable to our river system. Killing them also kills the 20,000+ eggs that such fish would produce and therefore perhaps more than ten returning fish in the future.

Let me once again ask that those who are killing them to think again and put the whole river interests before their own.

During the year, we held our first open meeting, an opportunity for anyone interested to question the Board on any aspect of its activities. I believe it was a successful start and will now become an annual event. In addition, all Board meetings will be open to anyone wishing to attend and future meeting dates will be published on our website.

I have been writing in this report each year since I have been involved about the need to improve transparency/communications. I believe that these meetings will be a considerable step towards that aim.

For me, the ghillies are the most important and effective means of communicating. The angling experience is heavily influenced by them. It is a great disappointment that the Ghillies Association is in danger of disbanding through lack of active membership and is kept going only by the work and commitment of a few enthusiasts and I am grateful for their efforts.

The Board must do what it can to support the Ghillies Committee in their attempts to create greater participation.

The hatchery/kelt reconditioning programme goes from strength to strength. We now have 250 fish available in this wonderful facility and plan to move up to capacity by the end of 2014, hopefully to coincide with the rewatering of the River Garry. The decision about when, lies with SEPA but, I am

3 sorry to say, they seem to find it difficult to reach one. Notwithstanding that under the European Freshwater Framework Directive, the River Garry is by any measure the most important in Scotland.

It would be the most significant event for the whole system since the building of the Hydro Dams, creating around 500,000 square metres of additional potential spawning ground.

Thanks once again to John Apthorp's generosity, we have been able to refurbish the kelt reconditioning building and have consolidated all of the Board's activities there.

2013 saw the third year of the trial season extension. 2011, however, was inconclusive, the licence was not obtained until August of that year. For many beats, it was too late to make proper letting arrangements and, as a consequence, there was a very low fishing effort.

I wish to discuss at the AGM, the possibility of extending for one more year, i.e. 2014, before putting the issue of season dates, both opening and closing dates, to a meeting of all proprietors before the end of that year.

Can I remind all who read this, that the great spring fishing of 2013 has created increased demand for the coming year but there remains lots of availability. Our river provides fishing for all and at prices to suit all pockets.

My thanks are due to all of the Board's staff for their enthusiasm and commitment and to the Board itself whose support I greatly appreciate. I would like to particularly highlight the fundraising lunch/auction which raised £40,000, a superb effort by all concerned.

Finally, I wish all who visit our river a safe and successful 2014.

Yours sincerely

W H JACK Chairman

4

5 2013 REPORT

Season 2013

The 2013 Tay salmon season was in many ways a remarkable season, certainly in the context of recent times. It was a season of highs and lows, as is now described.

The season opened as usual on 15 January. The opening ceremony at the Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel was performed by television personality Cat Cubie. While there had been very high water from mid December to the beginning of January, the run up to Opening Day was dry and stayed dry for the first week of the season. Thus, the river was falling and reasonably low for the time of year throughout this period. Given the previous high water, expectations were perhaps not that high. In the event, at least 21 salmon were caught on Opening Day, making it the best in a long time, certainly since the 1990s. However, the rest of the month did not equal that success. While we do not yet have full official catch returns, only 41 salmon were reported on the fishtay website for January, including 17 from Opening Day. Although water levels were good for most of the month, the weather was often very poor, snowy and cold and many beats were only lightly fished. Then, at the end of the month, there was a very large spate of over 11 feet which killed any hope of the first month ending with a flourish.

February commenced with very high water. But apart from a rise in mid month, the weather was basically dry thereafter and water levels fell away throughout the month. In total, 154 salmon were reported on the fishtay website. That was considered very encouraging at the time because the five year fishtay average was only 86 and indeed that for the all district catch only 114.

The month of March commenced with continuing dry weather and falling water. By mid month, water levels were low for the time of year and the weather remained cold. Indeed, hard night time frosts continued and many higher tributary burns were frozen. The only respite was a small rise on 19 March. Nevertheless, easterly winds continued to persist throughout the month maintaining average temperatures little over freezing. According to the Met Office website, the average air temperature in eastern Scotland in March 2013 was 0.7 degrees, the coldest since 1962 and the 6th coldest since 1910. March 2012, by comparison, was the warmest since 1938, with an average temperature of 7.1 degrees.

In terms of catches, March proved to be even better than February. 394 salmon were reported on fishtay as opposed to a fishtay five year average of 255 and a district average of 331. Even without what other fish will be reported from beats that do not report on fishtay, that made it the best March since 2006. When the final figures are obtained, it will probably be necessary to go back to about 1980 to find March catches that were consistently better.

The first ten days or so of April continued cold with frosts on most nights. Normally, by April, the fish are well spread out, but that did not happen this year. Instead, good salmon catches persisted in the lower Tay. In mid month, however, temperatures did return to normal levels and this precipitated a deluge of snow melt from the hills. Over one twelve hour period the Tay rose from just over a foot to over ten feet on the Ballathie gauge. In fact, there was so much snow to melt that the river ran very high for almost the whole of the third week of April.

Given the high water, it was assumed that the short spring “bonanza” was over. However, when the river did eventually clear on the Saturday, though still running at over five feet, over 50 fish were caught throughout the length of the river from Upper Redgorton to Loch Tay. What was particularly notable was that beats around Stanley still figured highly in the rankings. Normally, by this time,

6 springers pour through that area without stopping. And that proved to be no fluke. The following Monday saw a similar catch and this persisted for a whole week. Between 250 and 300 salmon were caught, making it the best April week in many years. In total, 722 salmon were reported on fishtay alone in April as opposed to a five year fishtay average of 358 and a full district average of 460. This was the best April since at least 2006 when 966 were reported for the full district. Depending on exactly how many more fish will be reported from beats that do not report on fishtay, it may be necessary to go back to 1978 to then get a better year.

In the first week of May there was another large rise. Thereafter, levels fell away steadily all month with the exception of a quick rise at the end. While the distribution of the catch did spread at last, May was another very good month overall. 949 salmon were reported on fishtay as opposed to a five year average of 411 and a district average of 533. If the final total exceeds the 1098 reported in 1994, as it most likely will, this will have been the best May in terms of reported catch since reporting commenced in 1952.

June was another very dry month and the flow sunk slowly to really quite low levels by the start of July. There were only a few small rises during the month and these only really affected some of the highland tributaries. Consequently, some parts of the river did well, but other areas, for example some of the tributaries, fished much less well than they can do at this time. However, June did see the catch reported on fishtay reduce a little from May, as it always does, but the 607 reported still comfortably beat the five year fishtay average. The total catch will undoubtedly well exceed the five year average for the whole district (617) and will likely be one of the best June totals ever reported.

Apart from a very small rise at the beginning of the month, July was very dry and the Tay ran as low as it has been at this time of year for quite a number of years. It was also very hot for much of the month, with daily air temperatures peaking in the mid 20s oC on many days. These conditions, combined with a seeming non appearance of a main grilse run, resulted in poorer catches for many beats. Only 485 salmon / grilse were reported on fishtay compared to a five year average of 618 and a full district average of 887.

By the beginning of August, the fierce heat eventually tempered and there was even a little rain. However, though much better than July, August was a disappointing month for many. A rise on the 2nd of the month was small and short lived. Apart from another small rise later in the month, water levels remained low all month, though not quite as low as they had been in July. 888 fish were reported on fishtay in August compared to a five year average of 1161 and a full district average of 1666.

September was another essentially dry month, the fourth in a row. The month opened with the Tay at its lowest level for the time of year for quite some time. Things began to look rather concerning by mid month, with catches continuing below par and reports of accumulations of fish in Perth Harbour. However, on the 16th, there was a rise of about a foot on the Tay. This modest rise, coupled with a colder snap of weather, led to a dramatic improvement in catches, particularly for some lower Tay beats. In the end, 1643 salmon were reported on fishtay which is close to its recent average of 1724. Given the previous two months and the experience of most other rivers which were really struggling, that was something of an achievement.

There was then a modest rise on 4 October, but that did not encourage fish to move from those hotspots (e.g. Almondmouth and Cargill) where they had accumulated during the low water. The normal closing date of the season (15 October) came and went with low water back, but it was all change thereafter during the trial extended fishing period in the lower and middle Tay. There was a little rise about the 17th, but on Saturday the 19th, the Tay had its first decent spate since May and

7 ironically the river continued high and fluctuating throughout the whole of the first week of the extension. Given those conditions, the first two weeks of October continued much in the same vein as late September. Some beats suffered, but some had an excellent time, knocking up their best autumn catches in years. For example, Almondmouth reported 637 salmon for the season and Cargill reported 554.

In total, 2117 salmon were reported on fishtay for October, nearly two thirds of which were reported during the first half of the month. For that half, that is around the recent average for those beats which report to fishtay. However, reports from the rivers Earn and Eden, which are mainly autumn fisheries, suggest these did not fish that well. The same was true of smaller Tay tributaries which were too low up to 15 October.

Overall, it is expected that the full district catch may end up in the region of 11,000, including the extension. Such a catch is quite reasonable for recent times, particularly given the poor conditions in the summer. However, there must be a concern that catches belie the real strength of the runs. The spring fishing did benefit from good conditions which may have resulted in a higher proportion of the fish in the river being caught, but the evidence from the Pitlochry and Lochay fish counters (pages 23 and 25) show there was also a genuinely stronger spring / early summer salmon run. Regarding the autumn, it was widely reported that even by September, and certainly by October, many of the fish being caught in the lower and middle Tay were colouring or coloured. In common with other rivers, there did not appear to be a large late run of fresh run fish. Lower mainstem beats benefited from fish which had accumulated over the long period of low water. The great unanswered question is whether a wet autumn would have pulled in a good run of fresh fish or merely allowed the older fish to move through leaving little in their wake.

As also mentioned, a major feature of the season was the strength of the MSW salmon run. The spring run was mainly composed of 2SW fish, but a significant proportion was again of 3SW fish which have become noticeably more common from 2008 onwards. At least three fish over 30 pounds were caught in the spring. In the autumn, salmon in the teens of pounds formed a greater proportion of the catch than would have been the case a few years ago. In addition there were more bigger salmon too. For example, four fish over 30 pounds were caught in the last three days of the season extension period and earlier in the extension period a coloured cock fish estimated at 45 pounds was caught on the Kercock beat. As regards grilse, they were not that numerous, and even into the autumn some very small specimens were caught, even under two pounds.

The Board has frequently been asked why there were more fish this spring. There is no absolutely clear answer yet, but one possibility must be that slower growing fish – as evidenced by the fact that grilse have become smaller - are simply not maturing as grilse but are staying longer at sea and returning as older salmon. This is not unexpected, of course, because that was the dominant pattern in British rivers between the 1920s and the 1950s.

It may also be that stocking has helped some tributaries, and what of catch and release? Perhaps it has helped also, but a curious thing is that in the most important Tummel tributaries, for example, most of the fish which returned this spring are likely to have been derived from the 2007 spring run / autumn 2007 spawning. The 2007 spring run was in fact a poor one and the catch and release rate was not as high as it is now (see Table 1). Furthermore, the 2007 spawning was affected by very low water throughout the spawning period.

8 Catch and release – spring salmon

In 2010, the Board introduced a policy of 100% catch-and-release of salmon up to the end of May. That had an immediate effect in increasing the proportion of spring fish returned to over 90% (Table 1). However, for the 2012 season, the Board asked proprietors to make the catch and release code a condition of let in the spring because it was felt that some small pockets of resistance remained during the 2011 season. It is encouraging to see that this appeared to have had some effect as the proportion returned increased to 92% in 2012. The Board continued to advocate the same policy in 2013, which it is believed was again largely complied with, though there may again have been some exceptions.

The number of spring salmon killed in the Tay district in 2012 was once again marginally the highest in Scotland, though not the worst, nor the best, in terms of the proportion killed. Those beats where spring salmon continue to be killed are therefore not only a minority on the Tay, but in the entire country (Figure 1).

Year Number released Number killed Total caught % released 1998 41 540 581 7 1999 108 831 939 12 2000 193 637 830 23 2001 415 739 1154 36 2002 271 524 795 34 2003 199 281 480 42 2004 301 684 985 31 2005 446 669 1115 40 2006 739 854 1593 46 2007 349 339 688 51 2008 861 247 1108 78 2009 667 179 846 80 2010 689 55 744 93 2011 953 118 1071 89 2012 946 82 1028 92

Table 1. Numbers and percentage of rod-caught Tay district salmon released and killed before 30 April. Data from Marine Scotland’s Statistical Bulletins of Scottish Salmon and Sea Trout Catches.

1400

1200

1000 Spring salmon killed 800 Spring salmon released

600

400

200

0

Figure 1. Numbers of salmon killed and released by anglers to 30 April 2012 on Scotland’s major spring salmon rivers. Data from Marine Scotland Science.

9 Catch and release – summer

In addition to continuing the spring salmon policy, in 2013 the Board continued the policy that, after May, all female fish should be released and no more than one male fish should be retained per day, which should be clean and, where possible, weigh less than 10 pounds (i.e. clean male grilse). While 2013 data are not yet available, it is clear that the introduction of this policy in 2010 had an impact on increasing the proportion of fish released compared to 2009 (Figure 2). 2012 was again higher than before the policy was instigated, but not quite as high as in 2011.

100 2009 2010 90 2011

80 2012

70

60

50 Percent 40

30

20

10

0 January February March April May June July August September October

Figure 2. Percentage of the Tay district salmon and grilse catch released by month in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The data used in this graph are Crown copyright, used with the permission of Marine Scotland Science. Marine Scotland is not responsible for interpretation of these data by third parties.

Catch and release rates in different parts of the district

While the statistics shown above are based on the long standing Scottish Government catch returns, the Board has also collected catch statistics for the last few years. This has proved particularly valuable in providing a breakdown of catches within the district, which was not available formerly. Consequently, this now permits us to identify how catch and release rates vary within the district.

It can be seen that, in 2012, the most recent year for which we have data, the highest rates of killing fish up to end April continue to be in the River Dochart and Loch Tay (Figure 3). Some of the smaller tributaries did not produce any spring fish and are blank therefore. The highest spring release rates were on the lower and middle Tay. However, in terms of absolute numbers, the largest numbers of spring salmon were actually killed on the lower Tay and Loch Tay with the Isla and Ericht behind (Figure 4). This assumes, of course, that all proprietors and tenants submit accurate returns.

It may be that this pattern continued again in 2013, as there were still reports of fish being killed on some beats. These included a 31 pound salmon from Loch Tay which was displayed hanging from a meat hook on a website.

10

60 Jan - April 50

40 May - Oct

30 Percent 20

10

0

Figure 3. Percentages of salmon retained in different parts of the Tay district during the periods January – April 2012 and May – October 2012.

12

10

8

6

4

2

0 Dochart Earn Ericht Isla Loch Tay Lyon Tay (lower) Tay (middle) Tay (upper) Tummel

Figure 4. Numbers of reported retained salmon from different parts of the Tay district, Jan – April 2012.

Sea trout conservation

In 2009 the Board first recommended that, following a long decline in their numbers, all sea trout should be released without exception. This policy has been maintained thereafter. Since the introduction of the policy the great majority of the catch has been released. 2012 basically saw the recent levels of catch and release continue (Figure 5). While recent reported catches are higher than they were a few years ago, the Board considers that problems may still continue to occur and that catch and release of sea trout should continue until there is a sustained recovery.

11 3500

Released 3000 Killed 2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

1956 1960 1964 1968 1970 1974 1978 1982 1984 1988 1992 1996 2002 2006 2010 1952 1954 1958 1962 1966 1972 1976 1980 1986 1990 1994 1998 2000 2004 2008 2012

Figure 5. Tay District rod & line catch of sea trout, 1952 – 2012. (Data obtained from Marine Scotland’s Statistical Bulletins of Scottish Salmon and Sea Trout Catches)

Staff Changes

There were two staff changes in 2013. Because of the greatly increased commitment to the Kelt Reconditioning Project described later, Jason Walls was recruited on a probationary basis as a trainee Hatchery and Monitoring Manager. Jason started work with the Board in February and his work involves all aspects of fish husbandry within the kelt reconditioning / hatchery unit and scientific work in connection with monitoring stocked fish etc. This post is part funded by the Tay Foundation.

One of the bailiff team, Mark Thorne, resigned to take up other employment.

Annual national bailiff conference

On 5/6 March the annual Association of Salmon Fishery Boards / Institute of Fisheries Management national bailiffs conference was hosted by the TDSFB at the Birnam Hotel. The well attended conference was considered a success. Among other things, presentations were given by the Procurator Fiscal Service and on covert surveillance equipment by Scottish Communications of Perth. There appeared to be considerable interest in the Kelt Reconditioning Project, a visit to which was a main focus of the second morning of the event.

Enforcement

A number of outstanding court cases from 2012 were concluded in 2013.

A Mr Dean MacGregor was fined at Perth Sheriff Court for fishing illegally on the upper Tay and a Mr Stuart Taylor was fined for fishing for salmon with illegal methods on the River Blackwater at Bleaton Hallet. However, another case involving suspected unseasonable fish was eventually dropped by the Procurator Fiscal.

12 In 2013 three cases were submitted to the Procurator Fiscal by the Police and resolution of these is awaited. These involve incidents on the River Tay at Perth Harbour and near Caputh and, in the third, a man has been charged for fishing illegally in the sea near Arbroath.

Once again, the Board wishes to express its thanks to Police Scotland, particularly local offices, who have, as always, been extremely helpful.

Health and Safety at Work

Health and safety at work is a major consideration for the Board. The Board’s staff are frequently required to work in situations where potential hazards are present. Therefore the Board is insistent that health and safety provision is of the highest standard. In 2013 the Board’s Health and Safety policy was reviewed and updated by Health and Safety consultants, Greens of Haddington.

No incidents was reported to the HSE under RIDDOR in 2013.

TDSFB Open Meeting 2013

One of the new requirements on district salmon fishery boards in the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013 is that, in addition to an Annual Meeting of Proprietors, DSFBs should hold an open meeting for any interested parties once a year. While the Act did not come into force until September 2013, the Board, which considers this a very worthwhile idea, decided to hold the first such meeting on 26 March. The meeting was held in the Birnam Institute and attracted a good attendance of both proprietors and anglers. Presentations on the work of the Board were given by the Chairman and the Fisheries Director with questions and answers following. Another open meeting will be held at a similar time in 2014. The exact date will be publicized in due course.

Review of North East England Net Limitation Order

The Board’s last Annual Report described a review of the north east England drift net fishery which had been conducted by the Environment Agency / DEFRA. The Board made significant representation to this review as that fishery caught 20,000 salmon in 2010 and 25,000 salmon in 2011, mainly Scottish.

At the time last year’s Annual Report was being written, DEFRA’s decision on the future of this fishery, which was already subject to a long term closure through natural wastage, was still awaited. However, on 6 December 2012, DEFRA decided that the drift net fishery would close entirely on 1 September 2022. A very welcome result.

13 Kelt Reconditioning Project

As explained in previous Annual Reports, on 1 April 2011, the Board took over the former Marine Scotland Science experimental fish rearing unit at Almondbank. After an initial trial period, the Kelt Reconditioning Project which is based there has become the central part of the Board’s hatchery operations. Therefore, in 2012, the Board took the decision to enter a ten year lease of the facility and, as explained last year, significant modifications were made to increase the facility’s salmon holding capacity. This meant that more salmon were taken in for reconditioning over the autumn/winter 2012/13 and a new full time employee was recruited in February 2013 to assist in this process. This means that the number of eggs / fry stocked out will increase from spring 2014 onwards, the numbers having been run down in 2010/11 during the period of uncertainly when the facility could have closed.

Given this background, the decision was taken in 2013 to consolidate all of the Board’s operations, including the office, in the former MSS site. It was decided that the Board’s existing hatchery, store and office, which is just next door anyway, be closed and that building be leased out. At the time of writing, the hatchery has already been removed and transferred to the other building and the office has almost been moved. Existing offices within the former MSS building have been renovated and re-decorated. This has included the creation of a room which will be suitable for holding meetings, including Board meetings, or for educational purposes. This excellent facility will be of great value in demonstrating the work the Board does.

Once again, this work could not have been completed without the generosity of Mr John Apthorp.

Figure 6. The Board’s hatchery and offices have been moved into the former Marine Scotland Science fish rearing unit at Almondbank. This has included new meeting facilities which will encourage wide interest in the facility.

14 Hatchery report 2012/13

As described in last year’s Annual Report, the Board’s stocking activities are now centered around the Kelt Reconditioning Project. Therefore, in 2012/13, most of the eggs incubated came from reconditioned kelts. However, the eggs and fry stocked in spring 2013 were incubated in the Board’s own hatchery, but in future these will be incubated in the former Marine Scotland Science facility, as described in the previous section (see Figure 6).

In spring 2013, most fish were stocked either as eyed ova or unfed fry. However, for the third year in a row, some 38,000 were stocked experimentally in November 2013 as fed-on parr. Ova and fry were stocked out into areas close to where the broodstock were originally sourced, i.e. either the same tributary or smaller tributaries close to the source area.

Unlike the previous two years, some mortality was encountered with the fed on parr during the hot weather in July because of gill problems. Apparently, this type of problem was common this summer amongst farmers rearing brown trout. There was, however, no significantly greater mortality among the reconditioned kelts during that period.

The numbers shown below were released in different areas in 2013. Unlike in previous years when numbers were estimated, these are based on actual individual counts of eyed ova and are therefore the most accurate yet. Numbers will rise from 2014 once the expansion of the Kelt Recondtioning Unit begins to take effect.

River Tilt 72,000 River Garry 212,000 River Lochay 28,500 Fillan tributaries 39,000 Cononish 38,500 Milton Burn (Lyon tributary) 16,000 Invervar and Camusvrachan burns (Lyon tributaries) 22,500 Lyon (mainstem) 7,500 River Braan 56,000 River Eden tributaries 19,000 Errochty Water 43,000 Ruchill Water (Earn tributary) 28,000 Ruthven Water (Earn tributary) (Sea trout) 8,000 Total salmon 582,000

Trial Extension of the Tay Salmon Angling Season

2013 was the third year of the three year trial Tay salmon season extension. This trial extension was run under a licence from the Scottish Government and was subject to the following conditions.

 Duration, 16 October to 31 October.  Participating beats were on the Tay from Perth to Dalguise only. No tributary beats were included.  All fish had to be released.  Only barbless hooks were used.  Worm was not allowed.

15

Furthermore, the Board agreed that one third of the income generated by participating beats, averaged over the three years, is to be donated to the Tay Foundation. The money generated will help meet the increased costs incurred by the Kelt Reconditioning Project. In 2012, for example, this generated £32,500.

Anglers were requested to record hours fished with each fishing method, estimated weights of each fish caught, sex of fish and an assessment of colouration. A selection of beats also photographed each fish caught and provided samples of scales for ageing purposes.

In 2011, catches were generally poor on most participating beats, partly because of very poor conditions and relatively low fishing effort. In 2012, catches were generally much better, with a few notable exceptions (Figure 7). At the time of writing, the detailed catch returns for 2013 have yet to be analysed. However, the catches reported on the fishtay website during the 2013 trial were again, in most cases, much better than in 2011, although more than half of the beats did less well compared to 2012. A few beats did in fact do much better.

Compared to catches earlier in the autumn, for those beats that did best in the 2013 extension period, catches were generally poorer than they had been in the preceding month (Figure 8). However, those beats that produced the lowest catches in the extension tended to have done even worse in the preceding month. The extension period was actually one of the best periods of the season for such beats. This situation arose because, earlier in the autumn when the river was very low, a few holding beats did very well, but others did not. The higher water in the extension period obviously improved matters for such beats, but some fish were slow to move from those areas where they had taken up residence earlier as evidenced by the fact that beats like Almondmouth and Cargill continued to do relatively well.

A report providing detailed results from the three years of the trial will be published on the Board’s website once completed. The next steps in the process will be considered at the 2013 Annual Meeting of Proprietors.

80

70 2011 2012 60 2013 50

40

30

20

10

0

Figure 7. Number of salmon reported on fishtay website during the 2013 trial extension period compared to 2011 and 2012 trial extension catch for those beats that use fishtay.

16

180

160 1 - 15 Sept 140 16 - 30 Sept 120 1 - 15 Oct 100 Extension

80

60

40

20

0

Figure 8. Number of salmon reported on fishtay website during the 2013 trial extension period compared to catches in the preceding six weeks.

Japanese knotweed spraying

Since 2010, contractors have been engaged by the Tay Foundation and latterly by the River Earn Improvement Association / Tay Foundation to spray Japanese knotweed along the River Earn. Most of the knotweed between St Fillans and Auchterarder has at least been sprayed once. However, in 2012 and then again in 2013, part of this area was resprayed by a contractor (Complete Weed Control). This is because several years of treatment can be required to eliminate this extremely tenacious invasive plant. In 2013, the spraying was paid for jointly between the Tay Foundation and the River Earn Improvement Association.

In addition to that effort, in 2012 / 13, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority instigated a volunteer led scheme which is treating knotweed around Loch Earn and also a few stands known to exist in the Killin area.

It had also been hoped that a European funding bid by the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS) would have provided more funding to expand this work, both on the River Earn, where the problem is particularly acute, and elsewhere in the district. Unfortunately, this bid was unsuccessful.

However, a combination of the fisheries led initiative on the River Earn itself and the National Park’s initiative on Loch Earn will hopefully start to get Japanese knotweed under control in the Earn catchment at least.

Restoration of flow to the River Garry

As has been explained in previous Annual Reports, something called the European Water Framework Directive requires dried out rivers like the upper River Garry, which is totally abstracted for hydro power, to be restored as far as is practicable. The Scottish Government and SEPA accepted that flow should be restored to the River Garry under the first Scotland River Basin Plan, which must be implemented by the end of 2015, i.e. within two years. In fact it was originally considered that measures should be in place by 2012 in order to ensure they were actually effective by 2015.

17 While SEPA, which is the lead body in this process, could have led on it itself, what actually happened was that SSE made a formal application to SEPA to restore some flow to the River Garry mid way through 2010. The Board made significant representation at the time and subsequently.

However, as at the time of writing (November 2013), SEPA have still to announce a decision on this application after three and a half years. Given there will need to be some lead in for SSE to do whatever work is required to restore flow, a decision will surely have to be made very soon otherwise Scotland will presumably have to report a failure to the EU on the delivery of a major WFD objective.

Salmon in the Classroom

Salmon in the classroom is a joint project which is now headed by the Tay Foundation, but formerly by Scottish Natural Heritage. Although the Tay Foundation heads the project, delivery is largely conducted by other partners which include Perth and Kinross Council Ranger Services, Angus Council Ranger Services, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Ranger Services, Atholl Estates Ranger Services and the Esk and Tay district salmon fisheries boards. In 2011 / 12, The Tay Foundation obtained grant funding from Scottish Natural Heritage to run the project. However, as this funding was no longer available in 2013, the Tay Foundation had to bear its own management costs.

In 2013, salmon eggs were provided from the Board’s hatchery at Almondbank to seven primary schools: Stanley, Auchtergaven, Kinloch Rannoch, Dunkeld, Oakbank (Perth), Crianlarich and Inchture. In the spring, most of the participating classes visited the Board’s hatchery and were given talks and demonstrations on the salmon life cycle and its conservation, the process of the hatchery and the fisheries on the River Tay. Later in the year, Board staff performed electrofishing demonstrations in the streams where the alevins or fry had been released by the pupils. Schools were also invited to submit a project record to a competition. The entries again were of a very high standard and Inchture and Oakbank schools were judged to be joint winners.

For the first time, the PKC Rangers also set up a display of hatching salmon eggs in the Perth Museum. This proved to be a highly popular exhibit.

Upper Tay Rafting Issues

In December 2012 an agreement was finally reached between local white water rafting companies and the Upper Tay Riparian Owners Association to limit rafting activity on the upper Tay during the salmon angling season. This has been the culmination of a very long process for UTROA. No rafting will take place on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesday mornings throughout the season. Rafting can only take place on Wednesday afternoons and all day Thursday – Sunday.

Problems caused by low flows

During the hot dry summer of 2013, there were some examples of juvenile fish having problems due to streams drying up. One was the Boltachan Burn near Comrie which dried in its lowest reaches. We were alerted to this problem by a Board member. Volunteers from the River Earn Improvement Association and bailiff staff electrofished young fish from drying puddles in which they had become stranded. This stream is abstracted by SSE who are bound by an old agreement to cease abstracting to prevent the lower reaches drying out. This was done immediately the problem was brought to SSE’s attention. This did make a difference in the short term, but as the drought intensified, the

18 lower reaches, where the bed must be porous, dried out again although there was flow upstream. Given the demonstrated propensity of this stream to drying up, the Board hopes that SEPA and SSE might find a long term solution whereby abstraction stops automatically in dry weather.

Smolt mortality at Dunalastair Dam

In order to prevent salmon smolts entering an aqueduct at Dunalastair Dam on the upper River Tummel, which flows to the turbines at Tummel Bridge Power Station, there is an array of smolt screens. These are large steel mesh screens which are placed diagonally across the flow to divert smolts from the aqueduct to a bypass channel to return them to the River Tummel below the dam. Originally, the screen array had a much smaller surface area than it does at present. Sometimes large mortalities of smolts occurred when the speed of the flow through the screens resulted in “pinning”. Therefore, some decades ago the channel was widened to accommodate a much wider screen array to ensure lower velocities. Problems have not been reported from this arrangement for many years. However, during the sudden and massive snow melt which occurred in mid April, very large flows occurred along the upper Tummel. SSE reported mortalities of smolts on the Dunalastair screens, 119 of which were retrieved (see Figure 9). While this was clearly an exceptional event, it was a reminder of an often overlooked but important issue.

Figure 9. Salmon smolts killed by being pinned on smolts screens at Dunalastair Dam under exceptional snow melt flows in April 2013.

Beavers

As reported in recent Annual Reports, there is now a significant population of beavers living in the Tay district. They are mainly spread along the rivers Isla and Earn in addition to the main River Tay. Beavers are also present in Loch Dunalastair, far up the Tummel catchment. In 2012, the Scottish Government announced that it would not seek the immediate removal of these beavers, if at all, but they will be monitored until 2015. The monitoring of these beavers is coordinated by the SNH chaired Tayside Beaver Study Group, on which the Board is represented.

An officer was recruited by the TBSG in 2013 and, over the summer / autumn of 2013, landowners were canvassed for opinions on impacts or perceived impacts of beavers. The other main effort

19 along with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland was to try to trap beavers for health screening and genetic analysis purposes. A major purpose of this ongoing exercise is to determine whether the existing beavers are fit to be considered part of a permanent “founding population” of Scottish beavers. Other work included monitoring of beaver productivity. Out of six lodges monitored, four were used by families which bred. Each of these produced two kits in 2013.

In addition to the work of the TBSG, another group, the Beaver Salmonid Working Group, has also appointed an officer specifically to collate information on possible effects of beaver activity on fish. Part of this work has included trying to assess the passage of brown trout around some recently constructed beaver dams on the upper Lunan Burn (Figure 10). While not directly involved, Board staff keep a close interest in these activities.

Figure 10. To date, most of the beavers in Tayside have not needed to actively dam streams. However, as examples of what beavers can do, the upper two photos show their progress in damming a small tributary of the Lunan Burn between April (left) and November (right) 2013.

In the lower example, beavers succeeded in temporarily damming the head of a fish pass on the Shochie Burn (left), completely cutting off the flow from this pass on this important salmon burn (right).

20 Consultation on River Flow for Good Ecological Potential

In the summer of 2013, an organisation called the UK Technical Advisory Group issued a consultation document, which clarified proposed flows that will be required when hydro rivers, such as the River Garry and others, are restored. Previously, the base flow requirement of such rivers had been defined but there was little detail on what requirement there might be for freshets for fish migration etc. This consultation sought to address that need. The Fisheries Director had some concerns regarding the amount of freshet flows proposed but was able to present these at a workshop organised by SEPA/Environment Agency. Sufficient flows to allow salmon migration up a river like the Garry might result in much greater “losses” in hydro generation than UKTAG considered, but because there are actually very few rivers that will require such flows (see last year’s Annual Report), it was argued that such a loss should be considered acceptable.

Hopefully, once these flow standards have been agreed, and if sufficient, another hurdle to rewatering rivers like the Garry will have gone.

Flood Risk Management Planning

As a result of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, SEPA have set up Flood Risk Management Advisory Groups across Scotland. The Board’s Fisheries Director was invited to sit on the local Tayside group. Included among the initiatives that might eventually be forthcoming from this legislation, include the adoption of natural flood management measures, some of which might be beneficial to fisheries. Certainly, large floods have been detrimental to fisheries interests as well as property more generally in recent times. The development of any such initiatives are awaited with interest.

Publicity and fishery promotion

In 2013, River Tay salmon fishing received some excellent publicity. Extensive publicity was obtained, both on television and national and regional newspapers, from the Opening Day celebrations at Dunkeld. That even included a piece on the BBC’s One Show on lady anglers. Later in the spring, BBC Scotland’s Landward TV programme did an excellent piece on the increase of catch and release on the rivers Dee and Tay. There was then significant interest in the good spring salmon fishing enjoyed on the River Tay. This included coverage on STV News and newspapers including the Telegraph.

The Board continues to work with Fishpal Ltd who have upgraded www.fishtay.co.uk to a more dynamic website that can more easily show photos, videos etc. A Fishtay Blog has been added to provide more detail, stories, photos etc of recent catches. These are also being posted on a Fishtay Facebook page and Fishtay Twitter feed. The Fishtay blog can be found at http://fishtaydotcom.wordpress.com/, the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fishtay/196185640529187?ref=hl and the Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/FishTaySalmon.

The Board has also set up its own Twitter account which can be found at https://twitter.com/taydsfb.

21 Opening Day celebrations at Dunkeld

In 2013, the Board once again lent its support to the opening day celebration organized by the Dunkeld and Birnam Tourist Association and the Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel. Following a well attended breakfast reception with members of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce at the Dunkeld Hilton House Hotel, the first cast of the day was made by the guest of honour, Scottish TV personality Cat Cubie.

The first cast of the 2013 season at the Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel was made by TV personality Cat Cubie.

River Tay Summer Lunch and Auction 2013

Instead of holding a formal evening dinner and auction, as has been the custom for some years, it was decided in 2013 to hold a less formal summer lunch and auction. This was held at Derculich House, Strathtay, on 25 August. The event was well attended, and aided by suitable weather, was judged to be a tremendous success. The auction, silent auction and prize draw raised, between them, just under £40,000 which was donated to the Tay Foundation.

The Redford Trophy, presented to the angler who catches and releases the largest salmon on the River Tay on Opening Day, was also awarded to Charlie Haggerty who had an 18 pound salmon on the Dalmarnock beat. In fact he also had one of 16 pounds, within half an hour.

Long Service Awards

In recent years, it has been the practice to present long service awards to ghillies at the annual dinner. These awards have kindly been sponsored by Savills. As there was no formal evening dinner this year, the awards were made by Savills at the House of Bruar on 6 June along with the presentation of the Savills Malloch Trophy for the largest salmon caught and released on the fly in Scotland in 2012. The three ghillies which received awards were George MacInnes (Ballathie), Bob Campbell (Stobhall) and Bill Mason (Meggernie).

22 FISH COUNTER RESULTS 2013

Pitlochry Dam

For the third year in a row, 2013 saw a total count above the recent average (Figure 11). This was largely due to a remarkable count in the May – July period (Figure 12). The count to the end of June was the highest since 1978 and that to the end of July was only very slightly less than those of 1995 and 1980 and not significantly bettered until 1979. However, from August onwards, the count was not large, even by recent standards. As all available indicators suggest there is now a lower proportion of grilse in the run than there was even several years ago, the large to end June / July counts would seem to confirm a particularly strong MSW salmon run which was also borne out by angling catches in the River Tummel and downstream.

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Figure 11. Annual net upstream counts (that is down counts are subtracted from up-counts on a daily basis) through Pitlochry Dam fish ladder, 1951 – 2013. (Data courtesy of SSE)

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Figure 12. Monthly net upstream counts, Pitlochry Dam, 1951 to 2013. (Data courtesy of the late Michael Gardner, David Stewart, Ross Gardiner and SSE)

23 Clunie Dam

The total count at Clunie Dam on the River Tummel for 2013 was in the higher region of those historically recorded (Figure 13). The June count was notably better than it has been for a few years (Figure 14), presumably reflecting the strong run that passed through Pitlochry Dam in May and June. Greater than normal numbers also ascended Clunie in September and October, but that was perhaps a result of delayed migration during the hottest period of the summer.

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Figure 13. Net annual upstream counts through Clunie Dam fish ladder, 1953 to 2013. (Note: there was a malfunction in 2005). (Data courtesy of SSE)

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Figure 14. Monthly net upstream counts, Clunie Dam fish ladder, 2003 – 2013. (Data courtesy of SSE)

24 Lochay Falls

The Lochay Falls are a naturally insurmountable barrier to salmon on the lower reaches of the River Lochay near Killin. As compensation for the loss of former spawning areas on the Lyon, the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board installed a Borland fish lift to allow salmon access to the Lochay. SSE now operate the fish counter on the upstream exit of the fish pass. The 2013 count was the largest for 15 years (Figure 15) with exceptional counts in June and July (Figure 16), echoing the counts at Pitlochry Dam. Perhaps this represents a Tay wide increase in spring salmon smolt / marine survival. However, it is also the case that this cohort of fish came from an increased juvenile population following increased stocking and fish passage improvements (see page 21 of http://www.tdsfb.org/documents/TayTributariesElectrofishingSurveyReport.pdf).

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Figure 15. Net annual upstream counts through Lochay Falls Fish Pass, 1960 to 2013. (Note: there was a malfunction in 2012). (Data courtesy of SSE)

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Figure 16. Monthly net upstream counts, Lochay Falls Fish Pass, 2003 – 2013. (Data courtesy of SSE)

25 Stronuich Dam

Unfortunately, the data from SSE’s counter at Stronuich Dam (River Lyon) appears again to be unreliable due to technical problems.

Shochie Burn Fish Counter

In 2011, the Board installed a resistivity fish counter in a fish pass around a weir on the Shochie Burn, Luncarty. The counter had previously been installed in the River Ericht but was redeployed when the weir housing it breached.

The Shochie Burn is a spawning stream and might only be expected to see fish late in the year. As reported in last year’s Annual Report, there was a net upstream count of 793 fish in 2011. In 2012, the counter was operated from September through to end December on the basis of the previous year’s results. The numbers of fish counted ascending and descending through the fish pass are shown in Figure 17. In total, 1102 fish were counted moving upstream and 316 were counted downstream by the end of December, giving a total net up count of 786, almost identical to the previous year.

It is notable that most ascents of the fish pass took place in October. There was also a significant number of down counts in that month, suggesting that some fish may have dropped back prior to spawning, perhaps to ascend again at a later time. Most of the descents in December took place between the 20th and the 30th, which is suggestive of kelts rather than unspawned fish that had changed their minds. However, descending fish can also exit this burn by dropping over the weir instead of going down the fish pass. Therefore the down counts are likely to be underestimates. Thus, while too much should not be read into the total net upstream count, these data prove that there is very considerable fish activity in this burn and that entry to the burn might be some weeks before the fish actually spawn.

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Figure 17. Numbers of fish over 50cm length counted by the Shochie Burn fish counter, September – December 2012.

26 SUMMER WATER TEMPERATURES IN TRIBUTARIES. ARE THEY A PROBLEM?

There is growing interest in Scotland and particularly south of the border, in the potential effects of high summer temperatures on juvenile salmon. However, despite this interest and opinions being expressed, there appears to be little hard data from Scotland on the actual water temperatures that can be reached and whether these can exceed lethal levels or not.

The spell of high temperatures experienced in July 2013 provided the best opportunity, certainly since 2006 if not 2003, to obtain some such information. Therefore, during the late afternoons (when stream temperatures peak) of some of the hottest days, Board staff took water temperature measurements, particularly in tributaries close to Almondbank.

Some of the measurements taken are shown in Table 2. In addition, the air temperature published by the Met Office for its nearest weather station (Strathallan Airfield, near Crieff) is shown to the nearest hour.

The day on which the significance of the summer heat was realized and temperatures first taken, was the 9th of July. It so happened that, according to the Met Office, the highest temperature recorded at Strathallan Airfield that afternoon was the highest recorded in Scotland for the year up to that point. Thereafter, where possible, hourly temperature data for Strathallan were saved for the rest of the month of July from the Met Office website. Also saved, were data for stations at Aviemore and Aboyne which, though outwith the catchment, are the other two closest relevant upland stations to our main juvenile salmon producing regions.

As can be seen from Figure 18, the 9th of July saw the highest peak of temperature at Strathallan and was, therefore, the best day in years to have taken temperatures in the Perth area. From Table 2 it can be seen that the highest water temperature recorded was obtained on that day, a temperature of 26 degrees from the upper reaches of the Shochie Burn. However, it can also be seen that some other streams in the area had lower temperatures at the same time. The upper Shochie, at the time, was very low and had little flow. It is also an open and unshaded stream, very shallow, stony and upland in character. Under those circumstances, the water temperature peaked just a little below the air temperature in fact. The lower peak temperatures in the other nearby burns on that day generally seemed to be related to shading from trees or reedy bankside vegetation. However, in the lower Shochie Burn, increased flow / current speed / water depth appeared to be the main obvious difference.

Such an effect of current speed and depth was demonstrated on the River Almond on 11 July, a slightly less hot day. There, the temperature in a shallow backwater was warmer than in the main flow (Table 2).

On 12 July, temperatures were taken in the upper reaches of the Shee Water, one of the Tay’s most important spring salmon production areas. It is also south facing and unshaded. 12 July was also one of the hottest afternoons at Strathallan and almost the hottest at Aboyne, which is actually the closest weather station. Although one small open burn (open because of grazing) with very little flow and shallow water did have a temperature not far below that of the air, the temperature of the Shee Water itself and its main constituent tributaries was less. Indeed, the temperature seemed to reduce as the size of the watercourse / flow increased, even though it was arguably more exposed to the sun.

27 Later in the same afternoon, temperatures were taken in some highly agricultural, “channelized”, streams near Coupar Angus. Water temperatures in that landscape, particularly as the streams had thick cover from dense reedy grasses, were really much lower.

Figure 18. Hourly readings of air temperature at the Strathallan, Aboyne and Aviemore weather stations, 8 – 24 July 2013. Data were obtained on a daily basis from www.metoffice.gov.uk. Gaps represent periods when it was not possible to save the data.

Waterbody Date Time Water temp Strathallan air oC temp oC Shochie Burn (Little Glenshee Ford) 9/7 17:00 26 28.2 Logiebride Burn (Balmacolly) 9/7 17:25 18.5 28.2 Ordie Burn (Balmacolly) 9/7 17:25 20 28.2 Shochie Burn (Moneydie) 9/7 17:50 21.5 28.1 Shochie Burn (Little Glenshee Ford) 9/7 18:05 25 28.1 Moneydie Burn (Moneydie House) 9/7 18:20 24 28.1 River Almond (Almondbank) 9/7 18:30 22 28.1 East Pow Burn (Lochty) 9/7 18:35 17 24.8 River Almond (Sma’ Glen) 11/7 17:00 23.5 25.3 River Almond backwater off main channel 11/7 17:00 25 25.3 (Sma’ Glen) Shee Water (Corrydon) 12/7 15:45 21 27.1 Glen Beg Burn (Spittal of Glenshee) 12/7 15:55 21.5 27.1 Lochsie Burn (Dalmunzie) 12/7 16:05 22.5 27.1 Thaitneich Burn (Dalmunzie) 12/7 16:05 22.5 27.1 Small Burn (Spittal of Glenshee) 12/7 16:15 24.5 27.1 Shee Water (Slochnacraig) 12/7 16:25 21 27.1 Drimmie Burn (Rannagulzion) 12/7 16:50 24.5 27.1 Coupar Burn (A94 Bridge, Woodside) 12/7 17:15 17.5 27.1 Burrelton Burn (Burrelton STW) 12/7 17:25 18.5 27.1 Burrelton Burn (Redstone) 12/7 18:00 14 26.5 Drain pipe, Burrelton Burn (Redstone) 12/7 18:00 11 26.5 Shochie Burn (Little Glenshee Ford) 19/7 17:45 24 25.2 Logiebride Burn (Balmacolly) 19/7 18:00 18 25.2 Ordie Burn (Balmacolly) 19/7 18:10 19.5 25.2

Table 2. Late afternoon water temperature measurements from some Tay tributaries on hot days in July 2013.

28 One of the concerns that is increasingly being expressed in some quarters, is that peak temperatures might already be lethal to juvenile salmon and might become even more so in future. That the upper Shochie Burn had the most extreme temperature is useful in this regard, because the Board has regularly fished a quantitative electrofishing site within a mile of that point for a number of years. Had the temperature been high enough to impact on the salmon population, it might show up in electrofishing results from that site later in the year. In fact, the results do show that the autumn 2013 salmon fry density at this site was one of the lowest in the series, though not much different from 2012 which was a cold wet summer. However, the parr density was slightly above average (Figure 19). A one-off electrofishing survey was also conducted at Shochie Ford site in September 2013, and there, the parr density was even higher. This was despite the fact that site was only a “semi quantitative” site, being fished through only once, whereas the main site was fished through several times. In fact, taking Tayside as a whole, the parr densities at both sites are actually relatively high.

Given that there were good numbers of salmon parr, at least, in the upper Shochie Burn after the hot summer of 2013, it can be concluded that temperature did not have a catastrophic effect on the salmon population. Given the upper Shochie may have been an extreme case, it would seem unlikely that even this hot summer would have had an impact on the Tay salmon population overall. On this basis, peak air temperatures might need to rise further to have any effect at all and possibly by at least several degrees to have a chance of potentially having a major population effect.

This is clearly an area that requires further objective research.

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Figure 19. Densities of salmon fry and salmon parr at a quantitative electrofishing site near Shenval on the Shochie Burn, 2004 – 2013 (site was not fished in 2008). Also shown are minimum densities from a one-off semi-quantitative site at the Little Glenshee Ford, September 2013.

29 COMPARISON OF PERFORMANCE BETWEEN STOCKED UNFED FRY AND STOCKED FED-ON PARR

One of the questions we, and indeed other fishery boards, are often asked, is whether it is better to feed salmon fry in the hatchery for a period before stocking out rather than stocking unfed fry or eyed ova. While there are many opinions on this subject, there appear to be few reliable comparisons between the different approaches and even these have provided contradictory results.

Previously, from the Board’s hatchery, stocking was only conducted with eyed ova or unfed fry. But, since 2011, we have been able to rear up to 80,000 parr in the former Marine Scotland Science facility at Almondbank. Therefore, in 2011, the Board commenced trials of stocking fed parr and this has continued in 2012 and 2013. Results from the 2011 stocking were presented in last year’s Annual Report.

Last year’s report described difficulties encountered in telling apart larger salmon parr that had been stocked as unfed fry or fed parr. It was later found that analyses of scales was unsuccessful in helping this. Therefore, that first year produced limited useful results, except to say that where fed parr were stocked in the main stem of the River Braan, in the complete absence of any other juvenile salmon, they appeared to survive well.

In order to overcome this identification problem, fed parr were stocked out in autumn 2012 with their adipose fins clipped for future identification (see Figure 22). Such fish were stocked in two tributaries above waterfalls where there were no complicating wild salmon; the Cochill Burn (a tributary of the River Braan) and the Tullimet Burn (a tributary of the middle Tay). Both streams had also been stocked with unfed fry in early summer 2012. The Cochill Burn had also been stocked with both unfed fry and fed parr in 2011, but the Tullimet Burn had not. Fed salmon parr were also stocked on their own in a section of the lower mainstem of the River Braan at Ballinloan in autumn 2012.

In 2013, it was decided to try assess the relative survival of eyed ova and fed parr. Thus, eyed salmon ova were stocked in two reaches of the mainstem River Braan in early spring 2013 and in a stretch of the Milton Burn, a tributary of the River Lyon. Both were later stocked with clipped fed parr in November 2013.

Through electrofishing surveys in the autumn of 2013, it has been possible to assess the success of the fry and parr stocking of 2012 and the performance so far of the eyed ova stocked in 2013. The success of the 2013 stocked parr will be established next year.

Tullimet Burn

Two sites were electrofished on the Tullimet Burn in October 2013. These consisted of one site in the centre of the reach stocked and another right at its lower limit. At neither site were any juvenile salmon found from the 2012 unfed fry stocking. The success of the fed parr stocking was not much better. Only one clipped salmon parr was found at the upper site and only two were found over a 37 metre length of the lower site.

This was clearly a surprising and disappointing result. It may be that the habitat is not ideal. It is also the case that trout numbers were low at the upper site, though their growth rates were good. However, trout parr did outnumber salmon parr by almost ten to one in the lower site. It is not known whether the fish simply all died or whether they may have moved downstream.

30 Cochill Burn

Eight short sections of the Cochill Burn were electrofished in October 2013 to recapture fish released in 2012. This revealed some very interesting results.

Firstly, regarding unclipped fish, it was the case there were two clumps of these, one around 70 mm to 90 mm and another larger one. The smaller fish represented those stocked in as unfed fry in 2012 and the larger, those stocked in 2011 as either unfed fry or fed parr. The clipped fish were larger on average than those that had been released as unfed fry in 2012 (see Figure 21).

Figure 20 shows the numbers of each type of fish stocked in terms of number per metre length of stream. This is done to make figures more comparable along the length of the stream. They are plotted with distance above and below the upper location of the area into which unfed fry were stocked in 2012. The lengths of stream over which fry and parr were stocked are also shown.

A number of interesting observation arise from Figure 20. One is the fact that many fish were caught outwith the zones in which they were originally stocked. Those stocked as unfed fry had the most clumped distribution, concentrated towards the lower end of their stocking zone or just below it. While the highest density of clipped fish was found in the centre of their stocking zone, they exhibited a much greater spread at low density, both downstream and indeed upstream. Some were caught over 1km upstream of the highest stocking location and others over 3km below the lower stocking limit. Had time permitted, it would have been interesting to have extended the range of sites even further.

A rough attempt has been made to estimate survival over the course of the year based on these figures. It has been assumed that densities of fish between each point on the graph fall on a straight line between the two. While this may not quite be the case, such an exercise produces an estimate of 1567 salmon parr of unfed fry origin and 793 salmon parr of fed-parr origin. These figures could in reality be even higher because they are based on “semi-quantitative” electrofishing. Underestimation is likely to be greater for the fish stocked as unfed fry. This is because, being smaller, they are the hardest to catch by electrofishing.

The unfed fry stocked in 2012 were not counted individually but were estimated to number somewhere over 20,000. The fed parr were counted on fin clipping, and some 7231 were stocked. This means that the survival of those fish stocked as unfed fry is at least around 8% but potentially over 10%. For those stocked as fed parr the survival is at least 11%.

Interestingly, this result for one year survival of fed parr is not dissimilar to those found for fed parr in the River Braan in 2012 (see last year’s Annual Report). However, when survival to smolting is considered, because the fish stocked as unfed fry are smaller, a greater proportion of them are likely to remain for a third year in the river and thus be exposed to in-river mortality for longer.

In terms of other aspects of performance, these results yield other interesting findings. For example, when the total densities of juvenile salmon (that is including parr from 2011 stockings) are plotted against the mean length of fish of each type at each site, it appears that growth is inversely related to the number of fish present (Figure 21).

31

Figure 20. Numbers of juvenile salmon per metre length of stream, according to stage stocked, found by electrofishing in the Cochill Burn, autumn 2013, at locations relative to where they were stocked in 2012.

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Figure 21. For each electrofishing site on the Cochill Burn, autumn 2013, the total densities of all juvenile salmon are plotted against the mean lengths of the three types of parr present.

Figure 22. Salmon parr that had been stocked in the Cochill Burn as fed parr in 2012 were easily recognizable in 2013 by a clipped adipose fin.

32 Mainstem Braan fed parr 2012

In autumn 2012, fed parr were stocked into the mainstem River Braan at Ballinloan. This was done in a similar manner to stocking that had been done at two locations further up the Braan in 2011. Those stockings proved successful and were reported in last year’s Annual Report. However, in 2013, only one salmon parr was caught at an electrofishing site within the stocked zone. Considering the previous results, this appeared surprising. Time precluded attempts to see if the fish had merely dispersed downstream. What is true, however, was that the average size of the parr stocked in 2012 was much bigger than those stocked in 2011. Perhaps many of them smolted as 1 year old smolts. Or perhaps they just did not survive for some reason.

Mainstem Braan unfed fry 2013

In early spring 2013, eyed ova were stocked in two sections of the River Braan, the same two sections as had been stocked with fed parr in 2011. It was considered that, by spring 2013, most potentially competing fish would have gone to sea and the emerging fry would have an empty river. A site in each zone was electrofished in autumn 2013 to check the performance of these fish. There were fears because a large snowmelt spate occurred within days of the ova having been planted.

In the event, a semi-quantitative survey revealed a density of 0.79 salmon fry per square metre at one site and 0.31 at the other. Both sites, it should be stated are dominated by what would normally be considered to be parr habitat. At the site with the highest density, the mean length of the fry was 57.7 mm, but in the other site it was 70.8 mm. The higher growth rate at the lower site may be a consequence of a lower fish density (i.e. less competition) due to either higher mortality or perhaps greater dispersal, which will be checked for in 2014. It should also be noted that some of the fish stocked in the Braan as eyed ova in 2013 were larger after one summer than some stocked in the less fertile Cochill Burn as unfed fry were after two summers. Both these sites have since been stocked with fed parr and the relative survival from now on will be ascertained in 2014.

While these trials have some way to go to completion there are already a number of things that can be concluded.

1. Stocking with any stage of fish might be capable of producing a good parr population in some burns. However, in some burns, it appears that the stocking of any stage might end in failure. It is essential therefore to follow up stocking programmes to establish which burns work and which do not, for whatever reason. 2. The stocking of fed parr in the main stem of the Braan has revealed both very good, and in another case, very poor apparent survival. Apparent survival was best when the stocked parr were smallest. 3. The stocking of unfed fry in the Cochill Burn among other fish, led to parr densities, which on the basis of their growth rate and the fact that some were forced to move, might be at or near the stream’s carrying capacity. Likewise, though results were variable, stocking of eyed ova in the mainstem of the Braan led, in one case at least, to an autumn density as good as might be expected in a similar habitat from natural spawning. 4. These results clearly contradict an often cited study from the River Spey where fed parr had a ten times higher survival to smolting than unfed fry. 5. On the other hand they also contradict some studies that found that fed parr did not acclimatise to the wild after stocking. 6. Juvenile salmon can move after being stocked, potentially over significant distances. This means that any appraisal of survival must include areas outwith those actually stocked, otherwise underestimates of survival will result.

33 AQUACULTURE AND FISHERIES (SCOTLAND) ACT 2013

The Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013, which came into force on 16 September, places a number of new duties on DSFBs relating to openness and accountability. The new section 46A requires that the annual report and statement of accounts must be published and a copy sent to Scottish Ministers and provides more detail about what the report should contain.

The Annual Report should include:

1) A summary of what the board have done in carrying out their statutory functions during the year to which the report relates. 2) A summary of what the board propose to do in carrying out those functions in the following year. 3) Information about complaints made to the Board during the year, including: the number of complaints; and a statement of the nature of each complaint and how it was disposed of. 4) A statement as to how the Board have complied during the year with the good governance requirements and propose to comply with those requirements in the following year.

Point 1) has been covered by the main body of this report. 2) has partly been summarised by the main body of the report but might be summarized by saying that the Board intends to continue to work on the same issues covered in 2013, but might seek to explore new issues, for example, how it might work with the Tay Foundation and Marine Scotland Science in developing a salmon smolt tagging programme on the River Tummel to monitor smolt survival.

Regarding point 3), the Board has not, as of November 2013, yet received any complaints since the new Act came into force.

New governance requirements

This Act places a number of new governance requirements on DSFBs, as indicated in point 4) above.

Meetings

All meetings of the Board, that is including Board meetings and the annual meeting of qualified proprietors, are now open to the public as observers, although some items of business at Board meetings may be taken in private.

In addition, there must also be an annual public meeting, separate from the annual meeting of proprietors, at which members of the public can participate fully.

The dates and details of forthcoming meetings can be found at www.tdsfb.org/governance.htm.

The minutes of Board meetings will be published at be www.tdsfb.org/minutes.htm. Hard copies can also be obtained from the Clerk on request.

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Annual Report and Accounts

This Annual Report with accounts will be published at www.tdsfb.org/annual-reports.htm and hard copies sent to all qualified proprietors in the district, Scottish Ministers, or to anyone on request. The annual report for 2011 / 12 was also published at the same place.

Complaints procedure

The Board has set up and maintains a complaints procedure which can be viewed at found at www.tdsfb.org/governance.htm.

Board members’ interests

The Board has set up a register of members interests. This can be viewed on request at the Board’s office. We have included a standing item at each Board meeting inviting Board members to declare new/amend existing interests and all such instances are recorded in the minutes of these meetings.

35

TAY DISTRICT SALMON FISHERIES BOARD

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Proprietors within the Tay District held in terms of Section 44(1) of the Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 held at the Birnam Institute, Birnam, Dunkeld at 11am on Tuesday, 11th December 2012.

Present: Bill Jack (Chairman) Allan Dunnet Mike Hay Elaine Whewell Bruce W Reid David Godfrey Bob White Edward Eadie Ross Gardiner Martin Edgar Colin Lowson Viscount Stormont Alastair Riddell Geordie Stewart Michael C Smith William Jackson John Wood Simon Furniss Will Lindsay Stephen Mannion

In Attendance: Dr. David Summers, Fisheries Director Callum Towns, Clerk Lee Fisher, Operations Manager Inga McGown, future clerk Mark Cockburn, Fishpal Bob Thomson John Coburn, Perth & Kinross Council Kenny Bell, Courier

Apologies: John Apthorp Gavin Jack David Milburn John Young Thomas Steuart Fothringham David Brown

36

Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 6th December, 2011.

The Minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting were taken as read and, on a proposal by Bob White and seconded by Will Lindsay, were approved.

Accounts for the Year Ended 31st December, 2011

The Accounts for the year ended 31st December, 2011 which were incorporated into the Annual Report had been circulated and were taken as read.

The administrator referred to the cash in bank figure of almost £251k, stating that although this figure may seem high, the assessments are largely paid, but the Board has ongoing costs which will reduce this figure until the next assessment issue in March.

The administrator then referred to the revaluation on appeals figure, which is very far behind schedule. This could be potentially a large figure, as we have to refund 2 years worth of monies for every appeal. The Board has stated that they are comfortable with no less than £100k in the bank.

A query was then made as to the nature of the “contribution to Tay Foundation employees” costs, and it was explained that these related to Rob Mitchell, biologist, who has now left the company, and to Lorna Birse Stewart. Both were/are employed by the Tay Foundation but some of their work relates to the Board.

There were no questions and, on a proposal from William Jackson, and seconded by Alastair Riddell, the Accounts were approved.

Annual Report 2011/12

The Chairman gave a review of the year, in particular highlighting the hatchery, which is very impressive, thanks to all the hard work undertaken by Steve Keay, hatchery manager, and ghillies Tony Black and Garry McErlain. The generous donations from John Apthorp have also been integral to the success of the hatchery. The Chairman invited anyone who hadn't seen the premises for themselves to come and visit.

The focus for the hatchery is fully on spring eggs which will be utilised to stock new habitats, for example the Garry.

The Chairman then went on to discuss the second year of the fishing extension trial and stated that this is a trial and will not be read as permanent until a fully informed decision had been taken.

The Chairman did note, however that he was disappointed to receive a letter of complaint from the canoeing fraternity, making accusations of verbal abuse, lines being cast over canoes, and in one instance, a boat being run at canoeists. A view was expressed that, although most of the canoeists had behaved well and taken instruction from ghillies, there had been a few who had simply ignored the ghillies’ requests and had wrecked the river for the anglers. It was suggested that the event take place on the Sunday instead to avoid much of the confrontation. The Chairman replied that the canoeists have rights too and that the event is likely to become an annual one, and will certainly be going ahead on the Saturday next year and the year after that. He went on to stress that anglers and

37 canoeists would be best to meet and discuss in a better atmosphere.

The new Board make up of 11 members, down from 23, was working well the Chairman stated. It was representative of the various users including timeshare owners and angling clubs, and Jack Coburn from Perth & Kinross Council , along with representatives from SNH and SEPA had also been invited to attend as observers and participants to give a wider depth.

On a proposal by John Wood, and seconded by Will Lindsay, the Annual Report was approved.

Presentation by David Summers

David Summers then gave a presentation on the three key areas of focus for the Board, namely the kelt reconditioning, the fishing extension and the Aquaculture Bill.

Regarding the kelt reconditioning, the Hatchery is seeking to increase production of eggs from roughly 750,000 to 1.5million in the near future, and to this end measures are already in place. The smaller tanks have been removed and replaced with larger tanks. A Trainee Hatchery & Monitoring Manager has been appointed pending references to assist Hatchery Manager, Steve Keay.

The Board is currently negotiating a 10 year lease for the Hatchery building, but the continuing work of the hatchery will incur significant costs and the Board is looking at ways to fund this.

With regards to the fishing extension, David Summers reiterated that it would run for the stated 3 year period, ending in 2013, and that there was a 100% catch and release policy. He then went on to provide graphs of some of the key aspects of the extension.

Last, but by no means least, the Aquaculture Bill was discussed. The Bill calls for more openness and transparency from district salmon fishery boards. This includes publication of the Annual Report and audited accounts after the AGM, which the Board already complies with.

There will be a duty to hold one public meeting every year, and for all other meetings, including Board meetings to be held in public also.

Furthermore, complaints should be more transparent, with a register of all complaints being kept, and open to inspection from Scottish Ministers. There will be a duty to disclose financial interests of Board members, but this area is awaiting clarification as to what these financial interests constitute.

The Bill goes on to cover anti poaching methods such as carcass tagging, and giving the Government the power to vary season dates, which at present can only be done by on application by DSFBs.

One of the attendees stated he was happy to see the Board preserving spring salmon and that the catch and release policy was working. However, he felt that some beats were ignoring this. Another attendee agreed that the catch and release policy was not happening in some areas, particularly around the upper areas, and that this needed to be stopped, perhaps with more policing. The Chairman stated that the policy was voluntary at present and that he would not like it to become mandatory if at all possible. However, the Board will take it upon themselves to write to all owners asking that it be a condition of let to catch and release.

Mike Smith then brought up the predator control problem with cormorants and felt that something should be done about it, perhaps taking out a raft to count the numbers of birds. The Chairman did not disagree but said that this would be a huge undertaking for the bailiffs. Lee Fisher stated that the

38 bailiffs had already looked at this and found that most of the roosting sites were at the lower areas of the estuary.

Viscount Stormount then congratulated Callum Towns on his hard work over the years, and wished him luck for the future. This was echoed by all.

Colin Lowson asked, regarding the fishing extension, how many photos were taken, to which David Summers replied there were photos from 6 beats, and from what he had seen the fish were cleaner this year but few were sea-liced.

Still on the fishing extension, Bob White stated that it had been a relative success in his view, and with that in mind, are we happy just asking for a third of gross income for the Foundation or should this be increased to say, 50%. The Chairman stated that the monies went straight to the kelt reconditioning project and that it would therefore be to everyone’s advantage. However, he felt 50% was a bit steep and it was something the Board needed to look at in more detail.

Callum Towns noted that William Jackson should be be mandate for Derculich in the Annual Report.

Any Other Business

There then followed a presentation by Mark Cockburn from Fishpal.

Mike Smith brought up the issue of Luncarty weir and that it should be removed. David Summers replied that it would involve lengthy processes to get permission to do so, and that the case for removal against any opposition might not be strong enough given the fish pass was demonstrably working. Lee Fisher also stated that since the fish counter had been installed, a number of fish had been counted. There was to be further monitoring of the weir.

No further items were raised and the meeting was brought to a close.

39 REPORT OF THE AUDITORS TO THE PROPRIETORS OF SALMON FISHERIES IN THE TAY DISTRICT

In accordance with the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 2003, section 44, we have audited the financial statements on pages 41 to 45. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective January 2007), under the historical cost convention and the accounting policies set out on page 43.

This report is made solely to the proprietors of Salmon Fisheries in the Tay District. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the proprietors those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the proprietors for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Respective responsibilities of duly elected and duly co-opted board members and auditors Section 44 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 2003 requires the Board to prepare a statement of accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Board and of the surplus or deficit for that period. In preparing those accounts, the Board members are required to:

- select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

- prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Board will continue in operation.

The Board members are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Board. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Board and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003. We also report to you whether in our opinion the information given in the Annual Report is consistent with the financial statements.

In addition, we report to you if, in our opinion, the company has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law is not disclosed.

We read the Annual Report and consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements within it.

Basis of Opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the Board members in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Board's circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.

We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the accounts are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial statements.

Opinion In our opinion:  the financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice applicable to Smaller Entities of the state of the Board’s affairs as at 31 December 2012, and of its surplus for the year then ended;  the financial have been properly prepared in accordance with the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003; and  the information given in the Annual Report is consistent with the financial statements.

Campbell Dallas LLP Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors Perth 4 June 2013

40 TAY DISTRICT SALMON FISHERIES BOARD INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012 2012 2011 NOTES £ £ £ INCOME Fishery assessments 2 436,246 439,701 Revaluation Appeals (17,428) (43,970)

Bad debts, changes to provision for doubtful debts etc ------418,818 395,731 Compensation Received (SSE) 6,344 6,121 Contributions from Tay Foundation(Hatchery) 29,270 17,110 Contributions from TGA(Hatchery) - 5,357 Contribution from SEPA - - Rent 4,100 2,700 Consultancy 790 360 Opening Day - 270 ------459,322 427,649 ------EXPENDITURE Salaries and National Insurance 193,584 188,611 Contribution to TF Salaries 16,179 35,097 Pension plus Death in Service- Board's contribution 12,253 7,891 LBM Consultancy Costs 3,650 - Training - 541

Employee Expenses - 532 Motor cars and boats running costs, incl insurance 35,392 36,337 Rent, rates and general insurance 24,353 20,148 Heat & light 5,887 6,244

Repairs&maintenance - General 4,731 2,998 Repairs&maintenance - Hatchery 1,877 7,022 Telephone & Communications 7,236 9,177 Printing, Stationery & Advertising 1,557 2,983 Annual Report Costs 579 577 Meetings and other statutory costs 2,715 3,316 Ghillies lunch and meeting 751 - Administration costs 17,310 18,360 Legal fees 1,081 1,480 Audit and accounts fees 2,370 2,310 Depreciation 27,832 20,852 Subscriptions and levies 15,670 14,036

I T costs 1,353 1,229 Health & Safety implementation incl clothing 9,549 2,673 New Hatchery 68,652 33,712 Sweatshirts - - Project Work 4,813 3,218 Websites 7,373 7,779 Conservation Dinner - 565 Gifts & Presentations 180 ------466,927 427,688 ------(7,605) (39) Gain on sale of fixed assets 5,800 580 ------(1,805) 541 Interest received 3 2,520 1,232 ------715 1,773 Transfers to reserves: NASF(UK) 5 ------(Deficit)/Surplus for the year 715 1,773 ======The notes on pages 43 to 45 form part of these accounts.

41 TAY DISTRICT SALMON FISHERIES BOARD BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2012

2012 2011 NOTES £ £ £ FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 4 131,482 110,437 ------131,482 110,437 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors & prepayments 48,482 30,846 Cash at Bank and in Hand 253,384 250,752 ------301,866 281,598

CURRENT LIABILITIES Other creditors & accruals 118,541 77,942 ------Net current assets 183,325 203,656 ------NET ASSETS 314,807 314,093 ======

Representing: Reserves 5 83,434 83,434 General Fund 6 231,373 230,659 ------314,807 314,093 ======

These accounts were approved on 13th August 2013

William Jack WILLIAM JACK ...... ……………….. BOARD MEMBER

William Lindsay WILLIAM LINDSAY ...... ………………. BOARD MEMBER

The notes on pages 43 to 45 form part of these accounts.

42 TAY DISTRICT SALMON FISHERIES BOARD NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS AT 31 DECEMBER 2012

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and are in accordance with applicable accounting standards. The following accounting policies have been applied:

Fixed assets and depreciation

The cost of fixed assets is stated at the net amount after deducting grants available. Donations relating to expenditure on fixed assets are credited to the Profit and Loss Account in the year of receipt, where there are no conditions attaching to the donation. Depreciation is provided on all fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost over the expected useful lives of the assets concerned as follows: Hatchery Over term of the lease Motor vehicles 25% per annum straight line Boats 25% per annum reducing balance Plant and Equipment 25% per annum reducing balance Computer equipment 33.3 % straight line

Taxation

No taxation is provided due to the fact that HM Revenue and Customs has agreed that the Board is not liable for corporation tax.

Death in service scheme

Contributions to the Board's scheme are charged to the Income and Expenditure account in the year in which they become payable.

2 FISHERY ASSESSMENTS 2012 2011 Rateable Rateable Value Assessment Value Assessment £ £ £ £ Upper proprietors 916,314 435,249 921,611 437,765

Lower proprietors 8,225 3,907 10,025 4,762 ------924,539 439,156 931,636 442,527

======Less River Shee (166) (166) Estuarial netting stations (2,744) (2,660) ------436,246 439,701

======

The assessments are based on 47.5% of Rateable Value (2010 - 61%)

3 INTEREST RECEIVED 2011 2011 £ £ Bank interest 2,520 1,232

------2,520 1,232 ======

43 TAY DISTRICT SALMON FISHERIES BOARD

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont'd) AT 31DECEMBER 2012

4 FIXED ASSETS Office and Leasehold Motor Plant & Computer Property VehiclesBoats Equipment Equipment Total £ £ £ £ £ £ Cost: At 1 January 2012 139,981 59,067 42,671 186,517 20,028 448,264 Additions - 48,878 - - - 48,878 Disposals - (33,507) - - - (33,507) ------At 31 December 2012 139,981 74,438 42,671 186,517 20,028 463,635 ------Depreciation: At 1 January 2012 48,067 54,214 42,095 174,424 19,028 337,828 Charge for year 9,196 14,646 145 3,026 819 27,832 Eliminated for disposals - (33,507) - - - (33,507) ------At 31 December 2012 57,263 35,353 42,240 177,450 19,847 332,153 ------Net book amounts: At 31 December 2012 82,718 39,085 431 9,067 181 131,482 ======

At 31 December 2011 91,914 4,854 576 12,093 1,000 110,437 ======

5 RESERVES GENERAL NASF(UK) TOTAL £ £ £ At 1 January 2012 83,434 - 83,434 Provision in year ------83,434 - 83,434 Expenditure in year ------At 31 December 2012 83,434 - 83,434 ======

44 TAY DISTRICT SALMON FISHERIES BOARD

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont'd) AT 31 DECEMBER 2012

6 GENERAL FUND 2012 2011 £ £ At 1 January 2012 230,658 228,886 (Deficit)/Surplus for year 715 1,773 ------At 31 December 2012 231,373 230,659 ======

7. CAPITAL COMMITMENT

There were no capital commitments as at 31st December 2012.

45 18000 October

16000 September

August 14000 July

12000 June

May 10000 April

8000 March

February 6000 January 4000

2000

0

1962 1964 1966 1978 1980 1982 1994 1996 1998 2000 2010 2012 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 2002 2004 2006 2008

Monthly angling catch for the Tay District 1952 – 2013 (including released fish). The 1952 – 2010 data used in this graph are Crown copyright, used with the permission of Marine Scotland Science, Aberdeen. Marine Scotland is not responsible for interpretation of these data by third parties. 2011 and 2012 data were collected by the Board and 2013 is based on a preliminary analysis of www.fishtay.co.uk catches.

100000 August 90000 July 80000 June May 70000 April March 60000 February 50000

40000

30000

20000

10000

0

1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

Monthly net and coble catch, Tay District 1952 – 1996 (netting largely ceased in 1996). The data used in this graph are Crown copyright, used with the permission of Marine Scotland Science, Aberdeen. Marine Scotland is not responsible for interpretation of these data by third parties.

46

BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDANCE FOR 2012

14 February 10 April 19 June 14 August 9 October 11 December W. Jack X X X X X X S. Furniss X X X - X X D. Godfrey X - X X - X W. Lindsay - X X X X X W. Jackson X X X - X X S. Mannion X - X X X X D. Brown (Co-opted, 19 June) X - X - A. Riddell X X X X X X T. Steuart X - X X - - Fothringham J. M. Wood X X X X X X J. Young X - - X - -

X Present - Apologised for non-attendance

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board wishes to acknowledge the following people, organisations and companies for their very kind assistance and support throughout 2012 and 2013.

All Proprietors within the Tay District River Tay Dinner Committee Callum Towns Andrew Graham-Stewart All Honorary Bailiffs All Ghillies and Boatmen All Tay Board staff The Tay Ghillies Association The Tay Foundation Scottish Environment Protection Agency The staff of Marine Scotland at: Victoria Quay, Edinburgh Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory, Pitlochry Montrose Research Station The Association of Salmon Fishery Boards The River and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish and Southern Energy plc

47