Newsletter

Since the last newsletter several months ago the improvements to the rivers juvenile habitat have continued. Some sections are already showing marked improvements on the numbers of fish present.

The fencing schemes on the Moffat Water and the Kinnel have dramatically changed the character of the banks and margins. The production and diversity of food from these banks can not be easily estimated however it will undoubtedly have increased. The leaf litter that enters the burns will encourage larger populations of aquatic invertebrates to become established which in turn will be eaten by young salmon and trout. Food will also be increased directly by the increase in terrestrial invertebrates on the banks that end up drowning in the burn.

Fencing erected on Sailfoot Linn in April 99. Note the erosion on the banks caused by heavy grazing pressure resulting in a lack of vegetation. The water gate ensures that stock still has access to water. The picture on the right is the same location in August; the vegetation is already starting to fill in the eroded areas and will provide a haven for a variety of invertebrates that will eventually be eaten by the fish.

Although some gains will be made quite quickly many of the benefits will not be seen for several years.

Some sections of the river have been damaged due to insensitive river management in the past. The dredging and straightening of river channels for a variety of purposes reduces the amount and diversity of young fish that they can support. Salmon and trout in particular will be effected due to the decreased cover available to them in the channel. If these rivers are left alone over time they will heal themselves however in some instances, this will take many many years.

To accelerate this process intervention techniques have been used in some places. A case example is the croys at Polmoody farm mentioned in a previous newsletter. The results from there after just one season are showing an increase in the densities of fish present.

Site	0+ salmon	1+ salmon	2+ salmon	0+ trout	1+ trout	2+ trout
1 (1998)	6.9	0.8	0.4	13.8	2.0	0.8
1 (1999)	33.3	5.8	/	69.6	37.3	8.8
2 (1998)	7.3	1.0	0.5	10.8	2.0	0.5
2 (1999)	14.9	4.6	2.1	48.7	28.2	5.1
3 (1998)	4.3	1.3	0.4	4.8	2.1	0.4
3 (1999)	15.2	1.8	/	48.2	12.2	5.4

Changes in fish densities pre works (1998) & post works (1999) at Polmoody farm.

These results are not especially good yet, the densities should become higher still but it is a remarkable increase in a very short time. Over the next few years, these densities will increase as the area stabilises and the bankside vegetation increases. The increases in parr numbers are particularly important; these parr will mean more salmon smolts and more adult salmon returning to the river.

The Moffat water at Polmoody farm. Although the final look of the area is not yet established, it is clear that vegetation’s becoming established on this site already and the river is stabilising into a more defined channel.

It is likely that the Moffat water is very important for the remnants of the Annan spring fish population so the dividends from this work could be very important in the rehabilitation of this fragile stock.

It is important that these works continue as in the long term it is the most effective way of improving the status of the river. To this end the fisheries board is currently looking to raise over £700,000 to expand these works over the next few years. So far, the various grant agencies have been supportive in our efforts and it is hoped that this will continue. It is unlikely that there is a river in Scotland of a similar size that is initiating such a large improvements scheme. The benefits from this work may be slow to materialise but they will in the future be significant.

In early October, the works contracted out by the Scottish Executive on the Statutory Annan Drainage scheme were completed. These works have been very damaging for the Annan fishery (for all species including salmon). Much of the channel diversity has been lost and the act of dredging the channel has meant that the stability of the gravels that form the riverbed has been much reduced. Many of the larger rocks that where present and forming cover for fish disappeared a long time ago.

It will be necessary for works of some form to take place in the future to protect farmland and domestic premises. It is to be hoped however that a more sympathetic approach to fisheries will be taken that may even enhance the fishery as well as carrying out the prime objective of flood prevention.

As these works were nearing an end the contractors (Oakbank Services) where contacted and asked if they were likely to have any excess materials left over. The result of this is that works have been carried out behind the Cheese Company that have added some structure to the river bed in the form of rock clusters and two short croys have been installed to increase the flow of water. These works will benefit anglers directly by creating lies for adult fish and indirectly by providing cover for juvenile fish. If future drainage works can include structure like this then the damage to the river will be reduced dramatically.

Works carried out on the main river behind the Cheese Company to create more diversity of flow and lie for both adult fish and juveniles. The red arrows indicate were subsurface croys have been installed and the black lines where clusters of large rocks have been placed. The works were carried out by Oakbank services using excess rock left over from the embankment works on the right bank.

Data on fish catches has only been available since 1952 when it became compulsory for salmon fishery owners to inform the then Scottish Office how many fish they had caught. There has always been a tendency towards under reporting and many of the stats have to be taken with a generous pinch of salt. The trends displayed however are accurate and follow the anecdotal experience of regular anglers on the river. The stats that are being used have focused on the rod fishery as the effort prosecuting this fishery has remained roughly the same over the time period. The net fishery has gradually lessened over the last few years due to a reduction in the numbers of fish present, a reduction in the carcass price of salmon and buyouts.

Throughout Scotland, this year there has been a small increase in the numbers of salmon caught before June. The increase however does not necessarily mean that we are witnessing a change for the good in spring fish numbers as catches are still below the five and ten-year averages. The true catches on the Annan this year will number a paltry three or four fish. Many kelts have been caught on the middle sections of the river and recorded as spring fish and this will distort the figures at the end of the season. Spring fish are too valuable to kill solely for there culinary value. Anything less than a 100% return rate of these fish will be unacceptable and in response to this, most owners have stated on their rules that no salmon will be killed before June 1st. In the interests of future fishermen, people must abide by this. Every spring Salmon female will be carrying as many as 800 ova per pound weight. The extra ova placed into the redds at spawning time will assist the recovery.

The graph above illustrates the need to conserve spring stocks very clearly and also demonstrates that they were at one time (the 1960s in particular) a very important component of the Annan salmon run. What is also clear is the success of autumn run salmon over the time scale. Many of the dramatic peaks and troughs coincide with wet and drought years. This year salmon and grilse runs later in the season have been noticeable by their absence. This follows on from a collapse in grilse returns on many rivers in the range of the Atlantic salmon. This is very worrying and is the second time that sea survival of a year class of smolts appears to have collapsed in recent times.

A genuine spring fish caught in February 1999. These fish are now so rare that all fishermen must return them if they wish to see their numbers increase in the future.

1998 was one of the best seasons recorded on the river for sea trout with over 3,000 fish caught , and over 25% were released. This year there appears to have been a crash back to reality and the final total at the end of the season is going to be much reduced. Much of this can be explained by the conditions with the rains in June encouraging many fish to run into the minor tributaries where they where unavailable to anglers. Some beats have reported good fishing (notably Kirkwood) however there does appear to be far fewer sea trout about this year than in the previous two years. Sea trout stocks are notoriously fickle with many factors effecting them. Historically there as been very little pattern to their numbers with conditions as well as the number of fish, present having a large effect on the total number of fish caught. The Annan is still a premier sea trout river despite this years disappointing returns. Remember that sea trout will spawn many times before they die (as much as 6 or 7 times in some cases). Any fish that are returned by anglers will quickly increase the numbers of adult fish in future years.

The graph above clearly illustrates the volatile nature of sea trout stocks, there appears to be little pattern in the catches either up or down over the time period.

A 6lb plus seatrout caught on the Annan during the 1997 sea trout festival. Fish like this are not uncommon on the river and whilst the average size of the trout caught is about 1½lb larger fish up to and over 10lb are present and appear to be becoming more common. If anglers limit what they kill fish like this could well make up an even larger proportion of our catches.

The Salmon fisheries boards remit is solely set up to manage, improve and protect stocks of salmon and seatrout however, there is a broad recognition that the careful management of all fish stocks in the river is important. This is due to the fact that the Annan has 27 listed fish species breeding along its length and that there is likely to be important relationships between the many species, and that many of them also have an economic value attached. The most important fishery on the Annan (in terms of the revenue that is brought into the region) is the salmon and sea trout fishery. Almost all the resources of the fisheries board are therefore only rightly going to be targeted at these two species however many of the works will also indirectly benefit the other species that are present.

Last year many beats on the river opened up for winter grayling fishing and, although, conditions were not ideal many large fish were caught, including one of 4lb 14oz that would have been a new Scottish record had the angler claimed it. In the year, 2000 the Grayling Society is going to hold its AGM in this region and many top flight grayling anglers from all over the UK (and the world) will be fishing the river.

A number of years ago there was a misapprehension that any fish that was not a trout or salmon was vermin in the river that was competing and actively eating al the game fish species. This not the case with almost all species finding there own niche within the river and although there is predation and competition it is perfectly natural. Indeed any attempts to change the population structure in the river are likely to lead to disaster. E.g. Pike culling as been demonstrated to have no effect other than to increase the numbers of small fast growing fish that are likely to eat a lot more fish than the larger ones that have been removed.

Three young pike caught whilst sampling on the river Annan. The third pike is inside the top one! Pike eat salmon, trout, ducks, water voles and many other creatures including other pike. They have evolved over millions of years to be very effective at this. They are however not the reason for declines in salmon and sea trout stocks except in areas were unsound management techniques have been used to control them.

Andy Dickson, the secretary to the Upper Annandale Angling Association has set up a web site that details where tickets are available on the river Annan and also has links to other peoples web sites. It is called Riverannan and can be found at http://www.riverannan.co.uk. It is well worth visiting and in the future Newsletters such as this and other information about what is happening on the river will be posted on it. If you have trouble finding the sites contact Andy by E-Mail on andy.dickson1@btinternet.com. Andy Dickson deserves a vote of thanks for his work in establishing this facility on what is so far a voluntary basis. The Environmental manager for the fisheries board can also be contacted via E-mail at nick@annanfisheryboard.co.uk.