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October 1999 June 2000 |
Environmental Managers Quarterly Report July 2002
Fencing Due to the wet weather and the resultant delay in
cutting silage the programme slipped but it is now well under way.
Fencing has taken place on the lower Mein, The upper Kinnel and the
mainstem Annan at Milton. Bankside revetments and instream works This years instream and bankside revetments works have not started yet due to the high water that we have experienced through spring and early summer. As soon as the water recedes to a manageable level log and Christmas tree revetments will be installed on the Annan water and the Moffat water. Additional work is also planned on the water of Ae (in partnership with the Barony College) and as mentioned in the last report on the lower Evan in partnership with East West Haulage. We should have had all of these works completed by the end of July but conditions have been too dangerous to work. All work will now be completed by the end of August, weather willing. Education The salmon in the classroom project has been completed with all schools having a field trip to the river to identify fish and invertebrates. A number of schools have already come forward for next years programme. A number of open days will be held in late August this year where members of the public and agencies will be able to view the work that has been carried out in the last few years, dates have yet to be set but firmly but the 24th and 31st look to be the most likely at the moment. Survey work The fisheries board employed Kelly King in June this year; he is currently undertaking a detailed habitat survey of the Milk catchment. This is a major tributary on the river that thus far we have very little information on. Early indications are tat there is much to do on the river and that the current land use could be significantly reducing its productivity in some areas. The collation of all of the survey work is continuing but has been slowed down, as we do not yet have the SFCC database that is invaluable for this to continue. We paid for this database some time ago but it has not yet been delivered. This is a concern as it raises questions about the value for money that we get out of SFCC membership. Later on this year this issue is being raised at a management meeting to resolve it. I have indicated to the SFCC that if we do not get resolution we will withdraw from the organisation. BGE Gas Pipeline Both the Ae and the Kinnel have been successfully crossed by BGE without causing any significant pollution problems. The reinstatement of these areas is now underway and the Fisheries board will work closely with the contracting company, Entropose, to ensure this happens smoothly. What everyone will be aware of however is that not all of the operations have gone smoothly. Silt run of from the site has been entering the Coggries and Griegsland burn on frequent occasions and causing significant problems for the fishery on the river. As a result of this the fisheries board has been assisting SEPA in the collection of formal samples with the view of submitting a case to the fiscal. On the 16th of July SEPAs licensing team decided that enough evidence had now been gathered and a report is on its way. Independently of SEPA the fisheries board has been negotiating a compensation package with BGE. We now have a sum of £5,000 to be distributed amongst owners who have a fair claim for loss of fishing at the fisheries boards discretion. We are also negotiating a much larger amount that will be used for project work on the river. The amounts that are involved in this are a matter of commercial confidentiality and can not yet be disclosed to the board. Pollution As usual a list of the recorded incidents has been supplied by SEPA and attached to the back of this report. Salmon
conservation bill At the last board
meeting a number of changes to the regulations on the Annan were
suggested. We have now as asked been in contact with the Association
of Salmon Fishery Boards and the coloured insertions into the original text are some of their comments. 1.
Catch
and release of salmon from the 25th of February to the 1st
of June and from the 16th of November to the 30th
of November. Section 10 (important that this refers to salmon
specifically and not salmon and sea trout) Possible
to make separate regulations for both species which are covered by the
Act brown trout are of course not covered as it refers to
migratory salmonids only 2.
Change
in the annual close time for sections of the rod fishery from the 16th
of November to the 30th. Section 6. You
will know the form on the ground but this could cause controversy and
the Executive may be reluctant to do this. We should discuss. 3.
Prohibition
of certain baits and lures at certain times of year. Prohibited
methods have to be listed it is not sufficient to just state what
methods can be used. Suggest outlawing worm, shrimp, prawn and multi
hook lures (e.g. Rapalas) during the fishing season up until June and
after the end of September. Section 8 Some of
this will be done under the Salmon Act 86 and some may require the
Salmon Conservation Act 2000 processes largely the same 4.
Change
the annual close time for sea trout so that no fish can be killed
after the end of August. Section 10 allows sea trout to be named for
separate legislation. Section 6 allows for the change in the annual
close time. Close time can be changed under
the 86 Act but Catch and Release will require the Conservation Act. Do
you mean close time or C&R? The
parts of the river that would be affected by the rod fishery would be
proprietors that agreed to lease there fishing entirely to either
RADSFB or RAFIA. This agreement would be made before making the
application and only those sections of the river that agreed to these
proposals would be included in the application. The
area defined for the regulations would need to be coherent and easily
identified, and ideally not fragmented. Also in certain areas
of the river it would be inappropriate to extend the season due to the
risk of disturbing spawning fish. It is therefore suggested that the
extension would not apply to any tributaries of the river and will be
confined to the main stem of the Annan from three waters meet through
to the bottom. Again can we discuss. The
order that this legislation would progress is: Would advise strongly that there is a lot of
preconsultation both with the river and SEERAD so as to avoid
confusion and criticism when advertising Write
to SERAD outlining the proposals and supply supporting information.
SEERAD will ask the Board to advertise the proposals once/if they
consider it meets the requirements of the Act. They
will then draft the necessary regulation once they are happy with the
proposals post 28-day advertisement (in light of
objections/representations received - MSPs are not, I think involved,
nor is Parliament given any opportunity to comment, given that this is
secondary legislation) they word the legislation into legal
jargon. Once the reworded bill this is a
regulation not a bill is
returned with any amendments that both parties are happy with the bill
has to be advertised for two consecutive weeks in the most relevant
local paper and the Gazette. The bill is then placed on the register
of new bills for 28 days whilst letters of support and opposition are
evaluated. After 28 days if no MSPs raise any questions about the
bill and the balance of replies is in favour of the bill it
automatically becomes law. If questions are tabled the bill is debated
in parliament and put to a vote. Sunday fishing The
board asked for affirmation of the law regarding fishing on a Sunday
in rivers that have a salmon fishery. Broadly it is not an offence to
fish on Sunday in Scotland unless you are intentionally fishing for
salmon (under Scots law this includes sea trout). If whilst fishing
for other species you accidentally hook and land a salmon it must be
returned unharmed to the water. An offence is committed if the fish is
killed. As requested the Association was asked to provide
clarification on this matter and there comments are listed in the
letter below. Miss A
Rafferty Clerk Annan DSFB McJerrow
& Stevenson 55 High
Street Lockerbie DG11 2JJ 24
June 2002 Dear
Miss Rafferty Sunday fishing I
was asked by Nick Chisholm to write to your Board to clarify the
position with regard to Sunday fishing in Scotland, following on from
some discussion on this matter at a recent Board meeting. Section
13(1) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Protection) (Scotland)
Act 1951 provides that no person shall fish for or take salmon during
Sunday. Additionally, it is an offence to fish for or take salmon
between 18.00 on the Friday and 06.00 on the following Monday, except
during Saturday or Monday by rod and line. For the purposes of the
legislation, the term 'salmon' is taken to include sea trout. As
far as I am aware, there are no statutory provisions relating to a
prohibition on Sunday fishing for brown trout, or indeed any other
species of freshwater fish in Scotland, irrespective of whether these
species occupy waters containing salmon and sea trout. Some
proprietors and angling associations do have certain rules on Sunday
fishing for trout and other fish, but a breach of these rules would
not constitute a criminal offence in itself. I
hope that this helps. Yours
sincerely Brian
Davidson
Scottish Environment Protection AgencyReport for RADSFB
Meeting on 25 July 2002 Water Pollution
Incidents/Reports in River Annan/Kirtle Water Catchment 18 March 2002 - 17
July 2002
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