11 March 2018 News/Editorial
With the anticipated post-snow flooding last week, fishing was hardly possible, and just 2 salmon caught on Monday, making a total of 68 salmon and 10 sea trout for the year to date.
At 6ft this morning (Sunday) after Saturday’s rain and snow melt, a slightly less unsettled forecast for next week might just bring an end to the frustrations of not being able to fish either at all, or in good, settled river conditions.
It has been very…...well, frustrating.
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Meanwhile, and importantly…..
…..the Environment Agency published its new “Salmon and Sea Trout Protection Byelaws” which can be found here:
and the Consultation itself on those changes, which can be found here: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/fisheries/proposed-national-salmon-byelaws/consultation/
All those concerned to see these changes implemented, especially the ending of drift netting off the English north east coast, are encouraged to respond in favour.
Rather off-puttingly, the preamble says it will take 60-90 minutes to complete the 11 questions (6 of which are about your personal details). As a Scottish respondent, I have answered only the first 3 sections ….. 1. personal details, 2. renewal of existing byelaws for spring salmon conservation, and 3. new byelaws for net and fixed engine fisheries…... as the others relate to English rivers and rod fishing
It took, at most, 10 minutes to complete.
For those who might appreciate some help in formulating a detailed response to Q3 re the new netting byelaws, some, or all, of the following might suit:
“I strongly support the proposed byelaws. Both the north east drift net fishery and the T&J nets are indiscriminate and interceptory, because research has shown they are catching the stocks of many different rivers both in England and Scotland. This is contrary to all internationally accepted management practices. Salmon stocks should only ever be harvested in the rivers to which they are returning, so that accurate assessments can be made of stock sustainability.
So long as the northeast drift net fishery and T&J nets continue to operate, no English or Scottish east coast river has been able to accurately assess its stocks.
Closure is long overdue as the Scottish drift net fishery was closed over 50 years ago for exactly the same reasons....it too was both interceptory and indiscriminate. “
It has been a running sore for decades that up to 75% of the salmon these English northeast net fisheries catch are heading for Scottish rivers…..but never get there.
If you do complete the consultation (deadline 8th April), thank you.
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We have had a minor influx of egrets here, driven inland no doubt from coastal areas such as Budle Bay in Northumberland, which they frequent, by last week’s easterly gales and snow.
Seeing egrets with snow on the ground in Scotland is wholly counter-intuitive; the first I ever saw was in 1969 in my gap year in the south of Spain. In my mind they are a product of warmer, more southern, climes.
No longer, it seems.
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