Tay Change Underway?

Wildlife/Environment | Posted on November 21st, 2007 No Comments »

Recent Comment articles on the state of salmon fishing on the Tay have been creating interest locally, with numbers of people agreeing with the picture that is being portrayed. The national Press has now picked up on the story and has started running with it from the weekend of 18 November.

Clearly, with the Tay being such

   an iconic feature of Highland Perthshire,

   a valuable corridor for local wildlife and

   a focal point for recreation and economic activity,

we all locally have an obvious interest in how well or how badly it fares.

Lobbying

Local fishermen are currently lobbying the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board (TDSFB) to introduce a 100% catch-and-release (C & R) policy, which, if implemented could mean up to 6,000 extra fish surviving to spawn each year.  This, on top of habitat works and other potential measures, would allow a more rapid recovery of stocks.

Comment has learned that an internet poll of local fishermen and ghillies debating this subject is currently showing 74% of people in favour of such a move. It is also understood that the Cargill beat near Stanley has now announced that it will now adopt such a policy for the spring of 2008, and this may now encourage others to follow.

Therefore people locallyare encouraged to take an interest in this subject, to make their views known and to vote in this poll and put pressure on TDSFB to implement such a policy, which has been shown to deliver dramatic improvements to other rivers - such as the Aberdeenshire Dee.

Congratulations go to the head ghillie at Cargill, Dave Godfrey, and to his employer for taking such a decisive, brave and forward-looking action on C & R at this time.  Given the importance of this river to our Highland Perthshire community, other riparian owners are warmly urged to do likewise.

Poll Your Views

The poll on C & R can be found at www.salmonfishingforum.com/forums/ . This is a very well run, professional site, the discussion of the issues is extremely articulate, sometimes humorous, very enlightening. Visitors need to take a just a few minutes to register. The site will NOT make them liable to receivie unwanted messages, and there is no cost involved.

Once registered with a user name and password, visitors just scroll down to River Tay in the rivers section. The poll is a simple “Yes” or “No”, and encouragement is given to leave a message, although this is not essential.

Is All OK on the Tay?

Given that those professionally involved with the River Tay are so evidently worried about their future, this is a campaign which is most worthy of wider, local support.

As always, contributions on this subject are warmly welcomed.

Salmon Catch Improvements: NOT Locally

Wildlife/Environment | Posted on November 4th, 2007 2 Comments »

News that salmon angling in Scotland continued to improve in 2006, has been warmly welcomed by MP Pete Wishart. However, the MP’s willingness to deploy the recently-issued statistics uncritically has angered local naturalists and anglers in Highland Perthshire. A total of 85,901 salmon and grilse were reported caught throughout 200r, with 47,471 - 55 per cent of the total catch - being released, the highest number on record. The MP said of the news: “This is excellent for the Tay salmon industry and its related links in our local economy. Although we can not be complacent, this recent upturn in salmon catches is fantastic news. Rural Job Support
“The Tay is known internationally for its salmon fishing. It is one of the best salmon rivers in our country, indeed in the whole of the EU. People come from all corners of the earth to Perthshire in order to fish.“Salmon fishing is very important to tourism and our local economy in Perth and North Perthshire as well as to the whole of Scotland, and angling supports around 2,000 jobs in rural communities. I hope that this is a trend in our salmon stocks which is set to continue and sustainability can be a key feature of angling on the River Tay”

Data Distortions
But Victor Clements, the Highland Perthshire Manager of Scottish Native Woods has countered that, although 2006 was a good year for salmon fishing in Scotland, there are significant regional variations in catches, and the national figures hide these.

He pointed out that, according to FishTay, with only two weeks left of the salmon season on the Tay, in EVERY month during 2007 the salmon catch figures have been lower than both the five-year average and those from 2006. The current total for the season is only 63% of the five-year average, and 51% of 2006.

“Granted, those figures will improve a bit in the first fortnight of October,” said Victor. “It is the upper and middle beats of the Tay which are of relevance to the wider economy of Highland Perthshire. For 2007, the middle beats are running at 50.5% of the five year average, and 37% of 2006. The upper beats and Loch Tay barely register on the scales at all.”

He acknowledges that not all beats record catches on FishTay, of course, but numbers have been increasing rapidly in recent years, and it can be assumed that numbers recorded in 2007 are at least the same as 2006, and probably more. Therefore, he claimed, as a ratio the comparison is relevant.

“The Pitlochry fish counter was reading 4190 a few days ago, only 77% of average, and only 55% of 2006. This gives some indication of numbers of fish currently running the middle beats of the Tay,” he continued.

Tay Trailing
It is the Dee and the Tweed that are pulling up the national total for salmon returns, and the catches on those rivers are UP in 2007, not down like the Tay. The Dee is currently running at 120% of its five year average. In comparison to the Tay, for five of the eight months of the season, their catches have been greater than both five year average and 2006, and their 2007 figures are provisionally the best EVER recorded since 1952. All their beats, in the upper, middle and lower river are now up on their five year average.

With catch-and-release, while the national average stands at 55% of fish released, on the Tay it is 40%, the lowest of the four major river systems. Again, for comparison, the Dee releases 90%.

Frustrating
“Statistics are important,” added Victor. “Pete Wishart, a democratically elected representative who can exert due influence in these matters, is quoting on information that is now a year out of date and which does not pick up the local picture in Highland Perthshire.

“How frustrating it must be for our locally employed ghillies and fishermen to see these stories in the press when they know the situation on the ground to be totally different. How frustrating to see their catches in freefall in 2007 when other rivers are having their best year ever.

“How frustrating that their local representatives are prepared to quote on information supplied to them, without questioning how that information was compiled.”

Empower District Boards
Good information and statistics, stressed Victor, are important in guiding good management of any natural resource, and good information is essential if government is to make sound policy decisions that are of any practical significance to local communities.

He concluded: “If Pete Wishart wants to effect change in Highland Perthshire, he should instruct his colleagues in Holyrood to give district fisheries boards the powers to collect and publish catch returns within a month of the end of the fishing season.

“That information should be presented on a river-by-river basis. That way, we would get up to date information of genuine local interest, and not some bland national figures that encourage complacency and self-congratulation.”

The Field Vole

Wildlife/Environment | Posted on November 4th, 2007 No Comments »

As a sequel to Robin Hull’s article in the September edition, this year I have been inclined to give them names other than those quoted by Robin.
That was after they
destroyed both my crops of climbing french beans (even after plastic tube protection),
devoured my carefully nurtured holly seedlings,
neatly severed the carrot tops, and
wrecked my pots of tulip bulbs!
My revenge? To recycle them via traps from which they go to feed recuperating birds of prey.

Bill Hoare
Fortingall

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