about tweedbeats

The River Tweed Commission

Tweed has traditionally been regarded and administered as a “Scottish” salmon river, but with its estuary and a sixth of its catchment in England it was recognised, even from medieval times, that it needed separate legislation if it was to protect its fish stocks and fisheries in a concerted way.

The River Tweed Commission is charged under The Scotland Act 1998 (River Tweed) Order 2006 with the general preservation and increase of salmon, sea trout, trout and other freshwater fish in the River Tweed and its Tributaries, and in particular with the regulation of fisheries, the removal of nuisances and obstructions and the prevention of illegal fishing. The area of jurisdiction extends five miles out to sea and includes the coastline between Cockburnspath and Holy Island. Powers under the above legislation are granted to the Commission to fulfil these duties.

The Governing body is the Commission, which consists of 43 members appointed by Local Authorities (23 from Local Angling Clubs and 20 from other interests), and 38 members elected by the Proprietors of the River from their number. An annual assessment is levied on the owners of all registered Fisheries.

The River Tweed Commission draws on the scientific information provided by the Tweed Foundation to inform some of its management decisions and strategy. The River Tweed Commission's Chairman is also Chairman of The Tweed Foundation and the Clerk to the River Tweed Commission is also the Foundation’s Managing Director. This structure ensures coordination of the two organisations that, while entirely separate and with distinct management, need to work in close cooperation with each other.

The Commission only has statutory duties and powers relating to fish, although this inevitably necessitates an interest in many other aspects of Tweed management and it works closely with all the other statutory bodies – both side of the Border. The River Tweed Commission draws on the scientific information provided by the Tweed Foundation to inform some of its management decisions and strategy

It sounds strange and many observers have wondered how we can manage Tweed with such a large Commission, but it works, and works well. The major benefit is that we are able to draw on the very considerable knowledge, experience and enthusiasm of the Commissioners. Tweed is a very large catchment, covering not only a large geographical area but also a wide range of interests. To really be in a position to effectively protect and enhance a living river system means harnessing the enthusiasm and involvement of those who know and care about the resource and have some power to do something about it.

The Tweed is a Special Area of Conservation for Salmon and three species of Lamprey; it is the most prolific Salmon river in Europe, and it also has important Sea-trout, Trout and Grayling fisheries, as well as some coarse fisheries; it has approximately 18% of Scotland’s Salmon spawning area. Tweed fisheries are now mostly rod fisheries with 26% of the Salmon being caught in England and 74% in Scotland; the Sea-trout rod catch is distributed evenly between England and Scotland. The RTC has responsibility for the management of these and all other species of fish in both England and Scotland. It enjoys an international reputation for being well managed and its fisheries contribute £18m to the local economy supporting c.480 full-time job equivalents.

For the latest news see http://www.rivertweed.org.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2018-March-The-River-Issue-1.pdf

The North Court, Drygrange Steading, By Melrose, Roxburghshire TD6 9DJ

Telephone: 01896 848294
Email: enquiries@rtc.org.uk