of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



99 



of a river, or any part of the channel, for the purpose of obstructing the 

 passage of salmon, have invariably been held illegal." Lord Davey says : 

 " The fisherman must be fishing with the net and not merely regulating 

 its position in the stream so as to catch the fish of itself. I think the 

 effect of the decision in Hay's case is that net and coble fishing is the 

 type, and the exclusive type, of all lawful fishing for salmon with nets, 

 and although other modes of fishing may conceivably be invented differing 

 in some details and in form from net and coble fishing as at present 

 practised, they must conform to that mode of fishing in substance." 



Lord Brampton refers to the hanging of the net as an operation to 

 impede the ascent of salmon, not to capture the fish, and in referring to 

 the Bermony Boat Case (Hay's case) quotes Lord Westbury "that it is 

 illegal to fish for salmon with any net which is a fixture, which is at 

 all fixed or permanent even for a time in the water," and adds that so 

 long as a net floats gradually down the current it remains a continuous 

 obstruction. 



To hang the net as I have witnessed in the Mth is to use the sweep 

 net as a fixed engine in a river, and no fixed engine is legal within the 

 limits of any river estuary. 



The netting rights in this locality have changed hands. The previous 

 owner was a member of the District Fishery Board whose mandatory 

 occupied the chair. The rights have now been purchased by the Corpora- 

 tion of Dumfries, and the Provost occupies the chair. 



The formation of the salmon pass on the Dumfries Caul has frequently 

 been subjected to local criticism, but the alteration in the netting methods 

 would be of much greater value to the stock of fish in the river than 

 any interference with the pass. I . might perhaps venture to add that 

 if 'a reduction in the amount of the netting, either by the discontinuance 

 of one of the shots, the removal of the net from the actual foot of the 

 Caul, or by the extension of the weekly close time, could be arrived at 

 locally, a wise policy would be inaugurated. It is a difficult time to 

 suggest such steps, but those who have the highest interests of the river 

 at heart would do well to consider the matter. The annual value of the 

 entire salmon fisheries of the District, both sea and river, is now assessed 

 at only £621, and rod fishing in this beautiful river last season is reported 

 to have accounted for only 29 grilse and salmon. 



The town mill, situated on the right bank, which is supplied by the 

 Caul, has been leased for a term of years to the Dumfries Electric Co., 

 who have taken out the old wheels and substituted two turbines. This 

 appears to have made a considerable difference to the rush of water 

 through the lade, and during the past year it was found that large 

 numbers of fish, especially finnock, managed to escape the polluted waters 

 of the lower river, and passing an unsuitable heck, to ascend the lade as 

 far as the turbines, beyond which there was no escape. A point of some 

 interest arose through the tenant of the net fishing regarding the lade 

 as included in his sphere of operations. The Corporation have agreed, 

 however, to the erection of a new and more suitable heck at the mouth 

 of the lade "where it joins the river." It is unfortunate, nevertheless, 

 that a heck which conforms in every way to the requirements of the 

 Salmon Fishery Acts is powerless to prevent the ascent of such small fish 

 as finnock. 



With regard to pollutions in the neighbourhood of Dumfries the 

 conditions appear to have somewhat improved, owing to the Sewage Scheme 

 of the town. The Maxwelltown mills and the mills of Messrs. Shortridge 

 are now, I understand, the only sources of difficulty outwith the influence 

 of the Sewage Scheme, 



