241 



Appendices to Thirti/ -first Annual Report 



proprietors like it or not. It does not appear that the District Fishery 

 Board have taken any part in the discussion, and no doubt they felt they 

 could not successfully interfere. 



The situation exemplifies the oft-referrod-to need for conjoint and 

 systematic action in dealing with the fisheries of an entire district. 



Spey. 



In the report from the Clerks of the Spey District Fishery Board, under 

 the heading " The Spawning Season," is the statement that the number of 

 breeding fish seen last winter in the river is a record one for a quarter of 

 a century. This is of special interest in view of the normal or rather short 

 stock elsewhere, and is no doubt the result of the removal of nets from the 

 river. With the commencement of season 1904 the nets on the river were 

 taken oft* down to the Cumberland Ford, below Fochabers Bridge (so called 

 because it was here that Cumberland's army crossed before Culloden), 

 thus leaving only about three miles of netted river. Since that date the 

 rod fishing has very greatly improved. One or two proprietors have kindly 

 shown me their records, but perhaps when I state that Mr. M'Corquodale, 

 on the Dalcroy and Tulchan water, now kills to his own rod over 300 fish 

 in the season, it will be sufticiently clear that the stock of fish has become 

 extremely good. 



Nine years have elapsed since the removal of the nets, and although I 

 specially refer to the matter now, it must be understood that a steady 

 improvement has been going on all the time, although certain angling 

 seasons which have intervened have been climatically bad. Three years 

 ago, for instance, I found that the rod results of one important fishing 

 had increased 56 per cent. It is important to notice, however, that several 

 steps with a view to improvement were taken before the improvement 

 came. As far back as 1851, 23 bag and fly nets were removed from the 

 coast in the immediate neighbourhood of the river mouth. In this way 

 the scheduled estuary was very greatly enlarged, there being a stretch of 

 coast between four and five miles, and containing the river mouth, in which 

 the Duke of Richmond and Cordon voluntarily removed his fixed nets. 

 The sweep net was still used in the river over about eight miles of water, 

 and also in the sea at the river mouth. In 1888 the weekly close time at 

 tlie uppermost netting station was voluntarily extended from 36 to 42 

 hours. In 1892 His Grace built a hatchery at Fochabers and began to 

 rear annually 600,000 salmon smolts ; in 1898 he added to the hatchery 

 and constructed a large tank in which, under the hatchery roof, male and 

 female fish could be kept before spawning time. In the same year a series 

 of six ponds for rearing smolts were constructed at Cunninghaugh, near 

 Tugnet, and at a later date six other ponds were added. Then in 1894 the 

 topmost net, at Orton, where the close time had already been extended, 

 was removed by the upper proprietors. This arrangement did not survive 

 beyond the period of one lease of six years, as no material benefit was 

 found to result. 



With the larger and important step of removing all nets down to the 

 Cumberland Ford, as already mentioned, the weekly close time became 

 operative ; fish were able to get past the remaining nets, and the upper 

 river received its stock of fish at an earlier date. I may mention that it 

 was calculated that by the step taken at least 6000 fish would annually be 

 allowed to pass the nets. 



The progeny of these additional fish are now making their presence seen 

 in the improved state of the river's fisheries. I have not heard if the 

 remaining nets have also benefited, but, arguing by what has happened 

 elsewhere (Aberdeen Dee and the Wye in England), one may believe this 

 to be the case. The inference that there is improvement all round is the 

 natural one. 



