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£3.5m fishing deal set to boost salmon river
William Chisholm
22nd April 2003
The Scotsman
THE Tweed is to enhance its reputation as the North Atlantic’s most productive salmon river with hundreds, if not thousands, of additional fish expected to return to the river this autumn.
More than 50 English fishing-boat skippers, whose drift nets intercept tens of thousands of salmon heading for the Tweed and other Scottish rivers, are planning to surrender their licences next month in a compensation deal said to be worth more than £3.5 million.
The river is a key wild-salmon fishing ground and claimed to be the most productive salmon-angling river in the entire North Atlantic system, following a bumper 2002 season and at a time when stocks of wild fish in North America and Europe are at a premium.
The 10,300 salmon landed by rod last year was the largest total for a decade, while the sea trout catch of 1,740 was the biggest since records began more than half a century ago, according to statistics just published by the River Tweed Commissioners.
While angling interests and salmon fishery managers north of the Border are hailing the agreement as "a most wonderful day", a leading member of the English fleet has warned the removal of 80 per cent of the netsmen from coastal waters will not resolve conservation issues.
Salmon fishery boards in Scotland have campaigned for 30 years to have drift netting outlawed off Northumberland and Durham where the salmon netsmen are based. The nets caught and landed 100,000 salmon and 90,000 sea trout in the last three seasons, and scientists say 80 per cent of those fish were bound for Scottish waters.
Earlier this year it appeared the long-awaited buy-out of sufficient skippers to make a deal worthwhile had failed, despite a £750,000 contribution from the UK government matched by contributions from owners of angling beats. The individual compensation packages were not attractive enough to persuade at least 50 of the 70 boat owners to hand in their salmon fishing licences.
But lengthy negotiations involving the North Atlantic Salmon Fund, which has already raised money to buy out other drift-net fisheries, coupled with increased offers to some of the wavering skippers appears to have tipped the balance. The completion of a deal in May would mean up to 55 boats not putting to sea to catch salmon this summer when the 2003 season opens on 1 June. There will only be about 15 licence holders left in the centuries old North-east Drift Net Fishery.
Nick Yonge, of the River Tweed Commissioners, the body in charge of fishery management on the river, said: "It appears very likely a deal will be concluded by the appropriate date in May which will take 52 nets off the sea. The 20 per cent of vessels left are based further down the coast so if arrangements are finalised it will be a most wonderful day for fisheries’ management."
He said angling beat owners in the Borders had made a very substantial contribution towards funding the buy-out. The main impact would be an increase in the number of salmon able to return each year to the Tweed, which would in turn attract more fishermen and boost the local economy.
Derek Heselton, who represents the English fleet on a national salmon fishing committee, agrees a buy-out scheme will now be going ahead.
But writing in the current newsletter of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, Mr Heselton has called on those men who decide to remain in the industry to unite to protect their legitimate interests.
"Salmon netting is a centuries old activity and we have as much right to exist as anglers," he said. " We don’t want to find that netsmen were bought out for the simple reason of putting more fish on to anglers’ hooks."
Mr Heselton, a fishermen with 40 years’ experience, claims many of the salmon netsmen who remain will be younger fishermen who will want to ensure that stocks are not threatened by increased catches by rods and that is why they must speak up for themselves and defend salmon netting.
"If there is any problem with stock, then anglers have to be taken out as well, not just netsmen," says Mr Heselton. "It is true that the salmon stock isn’t in a good state at the moment, but you can’t blame netting for that. Anyone with experience of the industry knows it is part of a cyclical pattern that has been witnessed many times in the past. We don’t take enough fish to have any impact on stock."
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