THE DEVERON 137 



It will be seen, therefore, that with frequently very small induce- 

 ment for fish to enter the river mouth, they were liable to be 

 captured by the fixed nets of Banff Bay ; and that when fish found 

 suitable conditions for entering the river, they were at once liable 

 to be caught by the net and coble fishing of the first 3 miles. The 

 removal of the cruive dyke was not sufficient to bring about a marked 

 improvement while this combination of circumstances prevailed. The 

 proprietors, therefore, in 1905 opened negotiations for the purchase 

 of the river netting and the netting in Banff Bay, and early in 1906 

 the negotiations were completed. Having secured all the nets, the 

 proprietors then sold the rights in the sea outside of a line between 

 the towns of Banff and Macduff, and reconveyed the river fishings 

 to their original owner, with the condition attached that rod and line 

 fishing alone was to be carried on. 



The new arrangement came into force at the termination of season 

 1907, so that from the 26th August of that year the Deveron has 

 been entirely free of nets. It happened also that in 1907 a severe 

 storm damaged the sea wall at Low Shore, Banff, and the local Town 

 Council, in order to properly repair it, opened a direct mouth for the 

 river through the gravel beach. In June of that year, when I visited 

 the mouth of the river, I found the lagoon no longer a part of the 

 river channel to the sea, and the former mouth at Low Shore already 

 completely closed up by the unchallenged action of the sea. The 

 salmon fishery proprietors succeeded further, in persuading the Banff 

 Town Council to allow the direct river mouth to remain. 



Duff house was, some time since, presented to Banff by the Duke 

 of Fife. It is now to be turned into a " Sporting Hotel," from which 

 fishing in the lower reaches of the Deveron will be possible. 



The direct entrance of the river is, I am persuaded, of great 

 moment, if only to prevent the wastage of water, by filtration 

 through the beach, and the consequent dissipating of attraction to 

 fish in the sea. If nature is simply allowed to take its course, there 

 is no doubt that before long the mouth will again be at Low Shore, 

 and the lagoon re-established. An engineer was consulted as to the 

 possibility of preventing the westward shifting of gravel, and made 

 proposals for works of enormous strength and cost. He no doubt 

 understands engineering necessities much better than I do, but I have 

 seen no reason to change the opinion which I then ventured to express, 

 that a simple row of stakes at right angles to the beach, and running 

 down to low water mark, placed some distance to the east of the 

 direct mouth, would cause the gravel to accumulate there, so that a 



