news/editorial

26 June 2016 News/Editorial

In the wake of the Brexit tsunami, spare a thought for the Tweed.

It is possible that within just over 2 years, say by the end of 2018, Scotland will be out of the UK but in the EU, and England will, not just possibly but certainly, it seems, be out of the EU.

The middle of the Tweed, roughly from Carham eastwards to Berwick (but not quite), will be the EU’s and Scotland’s land border with England.

As I sit here writing, within 150 metres of the middle of the river and the English border, how is that going to work? Can the Tweed possibly continue to be managed as one river when its situation, straddling two countries not only not in union with each other, but with one country, Scotland, in union with another 26 or 27, or whatever, countries from which , geographically, it is both remote and cut off.

It is a mess.

Moreover, off the coast, in the sea south of Berwick will be free from the often unjustly reviled EU Common Fisheries Policy; from Berwick northwards and all around the Scottish coast until you get to the Solway, will be back into the EU CFP.

Our salmon, on the other hand, know no national boundaries when they are at sea.

Another mess.

On a personal level, I see money to be made, unless, of course, there are Customs Posts on Coldstream bridge and on the little bridge over the Redden burn at Carham; even then, if there are, I will simply row over the river, keep a car on the English side and use that to do all my major shopping, load up the boat and row back again.

Not only that, I will sell tickets for those who want to join me. We might need a bus in England and a larger boat with an outboard; I could do deals with immigrants, denied by that buffoon Boris’ quota system, who then try to get into England via Scotland.

Our cauld is dry at the moment with a 25 foot gap in the middle through which the whole Tweed flows; I will develop a removable bridge for that 25 feet so that in summer immigrants into England can simply walk over.

The opportunities are endless.

But an almighty mess it most certainly is, some say brought about by xenophobes, by those who blame all their ills on Europe, often for no good reason, and/or by those who never thought it would actually happen, all of these with no regard whatever for the younger generation who will mostly be affected.

I could not possibly comment.

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So…...after all that…….. back to fishing.

That other rivers are catching many more salmon, now in late June, than the Tweed, is quite normal, for two reasons, first, many of them had mountains of water 10 days ago which we missed, and, secondly, our summer salmon and grilse come into the Tweed at least a month, maybe more, later than they do, for instance, on the Spey.

But, the signs are pretty good, so far, from these rivers……...and what happens there tends to happen elsewhere, indeed there is a remarkable symmetry between the fortunes of all our Scottish east coast rivers.

Mostly, all rivers did badly in 2014 and 2015, whereas they all did well in 2010, the record year.

Let us hope that what appears to be happening elsewhere means good things for us later and, crucially, when we get some water.

This is no prediction, only fools (and pollsters!) give them …….. so whisper it quietly.