Forth District Salmon Fishery Board

The Clubhouse 106 Biggar Road Edinburgh EH10 7DU

Website: http://forthdsfb.org Email: [email protected] Tel: 0131 445 1527

Current Board: • Ashfield (Crown Estates Commissioners) (Upper) – Represented by Fiona Simpson (mandated) • Cambusmore (Cambusmore Estate) (Upper) – Represented by Fen Howieson (mandated) • Lanrick (Lanrick Estates) (Upper) – Represented by Aly Dickson Leny (Drumardoch Estates) (Upper) – Represented by Tony Cameron • Allan (Allan Water Angling & Improvement Association) (Upper) – Represented by John McKenzie (mandated) • Forth ( Council) (Lower) – Represented by Scott Mason (mandated) • Angler Rep – Chris Thomas • Angler Rep – Jason Walls • Angler Rep – Bob Baird • Tenants netsman - Vacant

All Proprietors were elected on 23rd May 2016 under the Triennial elections. The anglers’ reps were co- opted after an invitation to all clubs and associations and wider social media etc at the FDSFB committee meeting on 23rd August.

Contacts Clerk (Alison Baker) 07594 332323 [email protected] Superintendent (Lee Fisher) 07887 835549 [email protected] Operations Manager (Jonathan Louis) 07864 999135 [email protected] Chair [email protected] Finances (Managed Estates) 01786 462519 [email protected]

Introduction to the Forth District Salmon Fishery Board. Legislation The Forth District Salmon Fishery Board was established under the 1862 and 18681 Salmon Fisheries Legislation, then subsequently amended in the Salmon Act 1986 and the Salmon Conservation () Act 2001. This legislation has been recently amalgamated under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 20032 and further amended under the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Acts 2007 and 20133.

The Board is empowered under Part 3 of the 2003 Act and the powers it holds and actions it can take are set out in this part of the Act and it is recommended that this is reviewed by all new members of the Board - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2003/15/part/3

1 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1868/123/pdfs/ukpga_18680123_en.pdf 2 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2003/15/contents 3 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2013/7/pdfs/asp_20130007_en.pdf

The Board is responsible for the whole District and this includes more than 3,600 km2 of water including all rivers which discharge into the Forth and the of Forth. The main rivers are Tyne, Midlothian Esks, Water of Leith, Almond, Avon, Carron, Forth (and Teith), Allan, Devon and Leven. It also includes all coastal burns which are of varying sizes, the main ones being , Biel, but there are a large number. The water courses also include the lochs within the systems, some of these are natural such as Loch Voil, Loch Lubnaig and Loch Leven, others are headwater reservoirs e.g. Glencorse, Venachar and Katrine. The lochs have varying degrees of influence and many have adapted connections e.g. impoundments or screens.

Whilst the remit of the Board is in relation to migratory salmonid species – Atlantic salmon and sea trout, the District has a wide range of fisheries within it from ‘put and take’ and pike etc. together with non- commercial species such as eels and lamprey. A significant amount of fishing also is resident brown trout fishing. Due to barriers etc there are large parts of the District inaccessible to salmon.

The limits of the District of the shall be – on the North, Ness; on the South, the Boundary between the Counties of Haddington and of Berwick; and that the District shall consist of the Portions of the Sea Coast and the Estuary, and the River contained between the said Points. (1868 Salmon Act). And shall extend seaward for 5 kilometres from mean low water spring and landward to include the catchment area of each river which flows directly or indirectly into the sea within the coastal limits of the salmon fishery district (2003 Salmon Act).

The estuary is split into two parts by the 1868 Act which is still the relevant legislation. The Estuarine limits of the River Forth extend to ‘A straight line drawn from the Hound Point on the South Shore to St. David’s Point on the North’. Roughly just below the Forth Rail Bridge. The significance of this is in the current Conservation Limits Regulations which have prohibited netting of salmon from coastal nets but not estuarine – see more below. The 2003 Act tries to have a definition on estuary limits where they are not defined but they are not really specific enough. It has not been a management issue in the past but with different parts of the district being categorised differently it has become relevant and hopefully a definition will be forthcoming.

There is also a formal definition of the Lower and Upper Proprietors. But clearly in 1868 there were only two rivers of significance - on the Forth, the Craigforth Cruive Dyke; and on the Allan, the Scottish Central Railway Bridge. For other rivers there is no legal definition so in effect all proprietors other than those with estuary or coastal netting stations are upper (as they are generally above or close to the tidal limit) and all netting stations are lower. This only has significance because of the make-up of the Boards Proprietors requiring both Upper and Lower Proprietorial representation.

The District has a number of protected areas. These can be found via SNH interactive map - http://www.snh.gov.uk/publications-data-and-research/snhi-information-service/map/

The main one relevant to the District in terms of salmon is the Teith Special Area of Conservation. This is to protect primarily Sea, River and Brook Lamprey with Atlantic Salmon being a supporting criterion. The SAC covers an area which includes the Teith tributary plus the downstream section of the Forth Main stem from the confluence to the Stirling Rail Bridge.

All migratory salmonid fishing in Scotland is owned by the Crown Estate unless it has been transferred to another person. The ownership of salmon fishing does not run with the land. In the Forth we have a significant number of fishings which are still held by the Crown Estate, mainly they are leased to clubs. The Board works with Crown Estates in terms of creating new fisheries where there is demand and also recently in the coordination of information to ensure that the records we have are correct with the transfer of the Crown Estates in Scotland to Scotland. The ability for the Crown to issue leases to clubs and associations also for there to be in the Forth, a wide range of publicly available fishing.

Forth District fisheries All fisheries in the District are registered with Valuation Office and entered onto the valuation roll. This is held with the Scottish Assessors Association and any of the fisheries ca be viewed on their website. (https://www.saa.gov.uk/ )

A revaluation is undertaken periodically (next is due 2017). The valuation office request information from all listed proprietors on the catch returns for the last 5 years, income, expenditure, etc. and they then value the fishery. There are 195 fisheries in the Forth District and we have three valuation offices. There is currently a minimum value of £50. The values across the District range from £50 to £11,000. On some rivers there are few fisheries e.g. the Avon only has 2, whereas the Tyne has 30.

Salmon fishing rights have only been ‘activated’ where salmon are known to be present. This is a bit tenuous as there some right above impassable barriers and the Crown owns the rights regardless of whether there are salmon present. It is generally believed that local management is required and generally they have been left in abeyance if this is not in place. There are areas which still need to be tidied up and we do h=not have an accurate map of where each fishery is.

Netting Stations There are 45 netting in the District owned by a range a people from SNH, BP, Fife Council, large estates, individuals and by the FDSFB (9). Approx. 4-6 are active within the Estuarine Area.

Open and closed times These are also set in the legislation and back again to the 1868 Act. The closed time for the Forth is from the 27th August to 10th February, with an extension for rod and line from 27th August to 15th October. The Season has been further extended to its current form, i.e. from 1st February and to end of October, however the exact byelaw is ‘missing’.

Other Regulations The Conservation of Salmon (Annual Close Time and Catch and Release) (Scotland) Regulations 20144 Brought in for the 2015 season, this regulation prohibits the killing of salmon in the Forth District before 31st March (and incidentally states the Forth season dates as being from 1st February to 31st October). This applies to Atlantic salmon only and not sea trout.

The Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulations 20165 Brought in for the 2016 season, this regulation categorises all Districts across Scotland plus the SACs. The three categories are

Category Probability of Effectively Advice Meeting CL CL Met in: 1 At least 80% 4 out of 5 Exploitation is sustainable therefore no additional years management action is currently required. This recognises the effectiveness of existing non-statutory local management interventions. 2 60-80% 3 out of 5 Management action is necessary to reduce exploitation; years mandatory catch and release will not be required in the first instance, but this will be reviewed annually.

4 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2014/327/pdfs/ssi_20140327_en.pdf 5 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/115/pdfs/ssi_20160115_en.pdf

Category Probability of Effectively Advice Meeting CL CL Met in: 3 Less than 60% ≤ 2 out of 5 Exploitation is unsustainable therefore management actions years required to reduce exploitation for 1 year i.e. mandatory catch and release (all methods).

The Forth was categorised in 2016 on a whole district basis at Category 3, however the Teith SAC was categorised as Category 1.

And no person may retain any salmon caught in any coastal waters in a salmon fishery district. So whilst netting is effectively prohibited below the Forth Rail Bridge it can still operate in eth Estuary area. As the estuary area is still ‘mixed stock’ (due to the number of rivers which feed into it) this is a bit of an anomaly. If as is the case in 2016 the estuary is classified as Category 3 (i.e. catch and release for salmon but not sea trout) it is difficult to see how this can be applied in practice.

The Assessments will be undertaken on an annual basis and the for 2017 on a river-by-river basis where catch returns have been made. The remainder of the District will be assessed together.

The assessments are predominantly based on catch returns issued to Marine Scotland and if these are not accurate then the assessment will also not be. This is a major flaw in the assessment as catches are often not returned and collection of data from the Forth District is particularly difficult due to the number of fisheries and the fact many are managed by Clubs and Associations. These Clubs struggle to get catch returns submitted and a high level of day ticketing also reduces catch return likelihood.

The River Forth Salmon Fishery District (Baits and Lures) Regulations 19996 This defines further restrictions on use of certain baits and lures in the District and also tines when they are allowed.

6 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/1999/188/contents/made

Finances The Salmon Act allows the Board to raise money from the Salmon Fishing Proprietors to undertake its remit. The levy is based on the assessment of the value of the fishery undertaken by the valuation office. The current value for the Forth District is c.£90,000.

Each year the Board considers a budget for the operation of the Board. This includes governance, collection of levy, accountancy, financial management, clerking, bailiffing, training, health & safety, monitoring, stakeholder engagement, etc. This budget whilst only covering the minimum requirements is generally higher than the base valuation. The current rate of the levy imposed is £1.60 in the £1.

This amount allows the Board to have one FTE Bailiff, a Clerk working 1 day per week, financial management by Manged Estates (who collect the assessment, do payroll and accounts as well as some other proprietor notifications), have the required meetings, annual report, accounts, insurance etc. It also allows for a donation to the FRT. This donation allows for the Trust to undertake monitoring, assess and set conservation codes, stakeholder engagement, consultations, data management, training, etc. By donating money to the Trust rather than employing a biologist, etc direct the Board benefits as there is no one discipline which the Board needs in terms of science/data monitoring, by using the Trust the Board gets the best of more than one world as the Trust can draw on a wider range of skills. The second benefit is that the Trust can use the money to lever in more money either by directly using it for funding bids or as match/seed money. The Trust can multiply the donation many times therefore making the money go further. Finally, the Board benefits by not having to employ more staff and thereby reduces its liabilities and also overhead cost.

Staff Resources The Board does not directly employ anyone. This was not a conscious decision but has evolved over time and has a number of benefits, including not having to manage employment regulation issues and simplified payroll/invoicing/accounts. Finally, in the uncertain times of Wild Fisheries Reform and likely dissolution of the Board not having any directly employed staff will simply this change.

The Board contracts the following services: Clerk – Alison Baker Consulting. Financial Management – Managed Estates Bailiffing Superintendent Duties – Lee Fisher River Management

The Boards accountants are Douglas Home & Co in Kelso, and insurance broker is Lycetts based in Newcastle.

Membership FDSFB is a member of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards (ASFB) - http://www.asfb.org.uk/. The ASFB is the national representative body for salmon fishery boards in Scotland. The current chairman is Alasdair Laing. The staff are Alan Wells – Policy and Development Director (currently on secondment to Marine Scotland to assist with the Wild Fisheries Reform, returning to ASFB at the end of October 2016) and Brian Davidson – Operations Manager (who deals with issue of Bailiff cards and also training via Institute of Fisheries management (IFM)). ASFB have a number of policy documents including the code of practice for DSFBs - http://www.asfb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Code-of-Practice-DSFBs-March-2014.pdf and the bailiff manual - http://www.asfb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Bailiffing-in-Scotland-Manual- 2011.pdf

Currently based in Edinburgh they share an office with the Rivers and Fisheries Trust of Scotland (who are the representative body for the Fisheries Trust). The main piece of policy from RAFTS is the Stocking Policy

(which the Forth follows) - http://www.rafts.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/RAFTS-Policy-statement- on-stocking-of-Atlantic-salmon-in-Scotland-2014.pdf and http://www.rafts.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/2014/03/RAFTS-Stocking-Policy-Technical-paper-2014.pdf

The representation of Boards and Fisheries Trusts is currently under review. It is proposed that the ASFB is re-named as Fisheries Management Scotland and that the Trust are invited to join this organisation so as to have a united voice.

The subscription paid to ASFB is based on the number of fish caught in the District on a five-year average.

FDSFB also pays for membership to FishLegal and all bailiff staff have obtained the IFM Bailiffs Certificate and are therefore members of IFM.

Major Stakeholders Forth Rivers Trust (FRT) The Forth DSFB was integral to the formation of the FRT and two Board Members are also Directors of the Trust. The Trust was set up to deliver the science and works on the ground required to conserve enhance the Forth Fishery. The Trust is a charitable organisation (SC????) and also a Company Limited by Guarantee (??????). It has to comply with Office of Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and Companies House requirements.

Unusually for a ‘big’ Board the majority of the staff are employed through the Trust rather than the Board.

The Trust receives a donation from the FDSFB each year which rough equates to the extra 60p in the £ raised. This is the only core funding the Trust has. The Trust delivers a number of the same objectives as the Board and each year reports on these back to the Board at the AGM. TheTrust however does not use the donation to necessarily directly deliver these same aims but uses it to lever in further funding.

As an Example: £60,000 would buy the Board a Biologist and a bit of a Data Managers/GIS time if it employed them direct. However, the £60,000 is used a number of times by the Trust both to pay for a wider range of staff (as part of their time is project funded) but also indirectly by employing a Development Officer who time is used to find additional funding. The Trust brought in additional funding up to £900k in 2015/16, enabling it not only to undertake the work of core fisheries management but also to deliver other projects and work:

Genetics work for Forth, Teith, Alan and Devon Barriers work – Allan, Almond, Midlothian Esks, Bannockburn, Tyne River Restoration – Avon, Leven (Loch Ore) Catchment scale projects – Allan, Almond and Avon

The range of staff allows for better responses to consultations and also for support to the bailiffs both employed and voluntary.

Contacts Manager (Alison Baker) 07594 332323 [email protected] Senior Biologist (Jo Girvan) 07933 270476 [email protected] Biologist (Sylvian Barry) 07562 375391 [email protected] Development Officer (Jonathan Louis) 07864 999135 [email protected] Allan Water (Lawrence Belleni) 07592 511394 [email protected] Forth INNS (Amy Fergusson) 07510 699741 [email protected] RiverLife (Kate Comins) 07592 671498 [email protected]

Financial & Office (Jo Bussell Bruce) 0131 445 1527 ???? @fishforth.co.uk

Local Authorities The District covers an area with approx. 25% of the population living within some part of the following local authority area:

East Midlothian City of Edinburgh West Lothian Stirling Fife Perth & Kinross Plus parts of the surrounding authorities.

In additional part of the Loch Lomond & National Park are also within the Forth District.

Agencies Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) – important landowner in the west of the District less so in other parts. Policy documents such as soils and water management documents play an essential role in protecting our rivers from the impacts of the forestry operations. http://scotland.forestry.gov.uk/supporting/strategy- policy-guidance/soil-and-water-management. There are four FCS areas within the District.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) – the water regulator (with other environmental issues). Important in terms of licensing operation within the water environment (http://www.sepa.org.uk/media/34761/car_a_practical_guide.pdf) – affecting both the protection against others working in the environment and restrictions on the FDSFB/FRT. CAR is generally a good guide but sometimes for fish protection it does not go far enough. All impoundments and abstractions should have a licence issued by SEPA and it should be up to date. Often and particularly with redundant structure they are not, a key role for FDSFB is to get these licenced and reviewed to ensure they comply with current practice. The biggest issue is that SEPA do not often want to use their powers although there is an indication that this is changing. The SEPA Forth Area Advisory Unit is the Forth District plus the Eye.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) – although Atlantic salmon is a protected species, its protection is not at the same level as, say, the otter. Otherwise fishing would not be permitted. Atlantic salmon are listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention and Annex II and V of the EC Habitats & Species Directive. The multi-sea- winter component of the Atlantic salmon population is included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Species List. The river lamprey, Atlantic salmon, allis and twaite shad, vendace and powan are listed on Schedule 3 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended) which make it an offence to use certain methods to catch or take them in freshwater.

SNH are not very active in relation to migratory species although they do monitor the Teith SAC - http://gateway.snh.gov.uk/sitelink/siteinfo.jsp?pa_code=8367 . The Forth SNH area covers all of the Forth District except for the Leven above the Sluice gates at the outflow of the Loch which is in Tayside.

Marine Scotland (Science) (MS or MSS) is the Government agency that deals with fish both sea and freshwater. The agency is split into policy (MS) and science (MSS). MS is the government arm and is based at Victoria Quay in Edinburgh and MSS does the science and are based at Faskally or Montrose. The Agency

collects the catch returns, has fish counters and undertakes research into fishy subjects. The other functions of MSS is that they licence a number of operations including: a) Stocking (referred to as introductions of fish), other than salmon which remains in the remit of the Board. b) Fishing using illegal methods (eg netting, electrofishing) for any fish excepting salmon and sea trout, which remains the remit of the Board.

Historically the Forth has not interacted greatly with MS(S). There has been poor communication between MS9S) and FDSFB, with the board not being informed of licences for the above being granted. There has been an improvement of late (on both sides) and with the introduction of Conservation Limits this has changed substantially. In the new world of Wild Fisheries Reform, it is expected that the new National Unit will be formed out of MS(S). There is a culture clash between the suits in MS(S) and the local network of Boards (and Trusts) and this is being to be broken down however there is still a certain amount of them and us.

Angling Clubs and Fishery Managers Most of the rivers within the District have at least one club/association. Tyne East Lothian Angling Association Midlothian Esks Musselburgh District Angling Association Water of Leith Fishery Officers on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council (Water of Leith Conservation Trust) Almond Cramond Angling Club West Lothian Angling Association Avon Avon and Kinneil Angling Association Linlithgow Angling Club (part of river Aon Federation) Avonvalley Angling Association (part of river Aon Federation) Slamannan Angling and Protective Association (part of river Aon Federation) Carron Larbert & Stenhousemuir Angling Club Allan Allan Water Angling & Improvement Association Devon Devon Angling Association Leven River Leven Angling Club

In amongst the clubs on these rivers are individual proprietors who may issue permits to fish directly.

The Teith and Forth fishing is more fishery manager led and more in line with the wider perception of salmon fishing in Scotland.

The Board has no remit to engage with angling clubs or in fact promote any part of the districts fishery per se, nor does it have any remit to represent the angler, other than it is required to co-opt a representative of salmon anglers in the District and also a tenants netsman. But it does through a number of actions as it is recognised that without their support much work would not get done (and that they indirectly pay the levy).

Volunteers The Board relies heavily on volunteers, particularly for enforcement. The Board pays for the training of these volunteers and insures them. Management of the volunteer force is not easy and currently it is managed by the Superintendent with support from the office by the FRT Development Officer. It currently has 13 volunteer bailiffs.

The majority of other volunteering operates via the Trust.

What the FDSFB can do and what it cannot • The Board can raise money to fulfil its statutory remit, but currently the Forth is not able to raise enough to fulfil all of its duties (compared with Tay, Tweed, Spay etc) • It can recommend via a code of conservation on restrictions of fish killed, sizes etc but it cannot enforce this through the law as it stands. • It can ‘warrant’ bailiffs – but should follow the ASFB code of practice • It is not a statutory consultee in the planning process except for Aquaculture. • It is not a statutory consultee in the CAR licencing process by SEPA (they have an obligation to notify stakeholders only if an application is deemed to have an environmental impact) • It is not a statutory consultee in the Marine Licensing Process (but routinely gets asked to comment on consultations) • It no longer can enforce screen and fishpass regulations directly- these are now in the remit of SEPA. • It can authorise or not the stocking of salmon but has no control over the stocking of other freshwater species (it can advise, if asked) • It can authorise the use of illegal fishing techniques but so can Marine Scotland. • It is not allowed to blow up anything!

Alison Baker October 2016