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REPORT. 



I HAVE the honour to submit my Annual Report to the Fishery- 

 Board for Scotland for the year 1897. 



In accordance with my instructions, I visited the river North Esk North Esk, 

 on the 16th July, and on the 16th and 18th October last, for the 

 purpose of reporting on the state of Craigo and Morphie dam dykes and 

 the bed of the river in their immediate neighbourhood. My report on 

 this matter is given in Note II. of the appendices. Craigo dyke has 

 for a number of years formed a serious obstruction to the passage of 

 salmon to the upper waters, and was strongly condemned by my pre- 

 decessor, Mr. Young, in a report to the upper proprietors, dated as far 

 back as the 10th February 1882, which is printed as Appendix Y. to the 

 Board's First Annual Beport. Although some alterations were made in 

 the folloAving year, they were not effectual, and the dyke still forms a 

 most formidable obstruction. The District Board have now taken the 

 matter in hand, and, since they have undertaken that their action will 

 be regulated by the terms of the report which they received from the 

 Fishery Board, it is to be hoped that efficient steps will immediately be 

 taken to provide a free passage for salmon in terms of the bye-law. 



After leaving the North Esk, I proceeded, on the 1 7th July, to the SouthlEsk. 

 South Esk. The late Mr. Frank Buckland is reported to have said in 

 1870, of this river and its tributary strcfims, that it was naturally the 

 best river of its size he had seen in Scotland for breeding salmon, and 

 the worst treated. Much has been done for its improvement since that 

 time, particularly by the establishment of a sewage farm with the viev/ 

 of stopping pollution, and by the construction of an efficient fish-pass 

 at Brechin Castle dam dyke, formerly a most serious obstruction. The 

 increase in the rental of the fishings shows that the steps which have 

 been taken have proved successful. In 1874 the rental was XI 536 ; it 

 is now £3149. It is satisfactory to find that the proprietors in this 

 district, who have hitherto shown such energy and judgment in the 

 management of their fishings, are in the van of the movement recom- 

 mended by the Boyal Commission on Tweed and Solway for the further 

 development of the capabilities of their river for the production of fish ; 

 and have come to an arrangement by which, in future, netting in 

 confined waters will be discontinued and the river be kept for the 

 breeding of fish, rod fishing only being allowed. The proprietors are 

 to be congratulated on this step. In other districts where it has been 

 adopted it has been followed by the improvement both of the net 

 fishings in the sea and of the rod fishings in the river. 



"Where so much has been done for the development of the fishings it 

 is disappointing to find that such a small matter as providing efficient 

 fish-passes at some of the dam dykes has been neglected. In my Report 

 to the Board for the year 1892 I point out that at Kinnaird dam I 

 saw numbers of salmon attempting in vain to ascend, and that the fish- 

 pass appeared quite inoperative. Nothing, however, has been done to 



