The Committee's Blog

The committee are delighted to confirm that they have authorised a series of improvements on the Rivers Endrick and Fruin with a significant number of stiles having been constructed and now in the process of being installed.  The first works have commenced on the upper Fruin around the Black Bridge area and others will be rolled out over the next few weeks.  It is hoped that the new committee will continue the installation process given the wood has been bought and the stiles constructed.

In addition a number of small bridges are also planned for the upper Endrick which should allow better access in places.

It is with enormous satisfaction that the committee can confirm that the Lomond system has been re-categorised as a category 2 water for the 2017 season.

After what was described as a very constructive meeting in late September attended by the Association Chairman, Carolyn Bryce the biologist for the Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust and representatives from Marine Scotland and the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries team we knew that we had put forward a strong case.  It was also apparent that there was a real willingness on the part of Government to review the categorisation of the Lomond system for the 2017 season, however, this was no done deal as our case had to be fought and won.

Following this meeting the committee submitted their response to the consultation in good time and in line with the timeframe set by Government.  It was then a case of waiting, we knew that we had done as much as we could, the question was would it be enough?

Early in November we received word back that things were looking positive but the matter had still to be referred back to the Scottish Parliament for consideration.  The final decision when it came today was not just welcomed, but also we believe, well deserved.

There is no doubt that our categorisation would not have changed if your committee had sat back and did nothing and this result was ultimately down to old fashioned grit, determination and an extremely strong and coherent argument.  The committee also avoided jeopardising any change to our categorisation through reporting prematurely the initial feedback we had received as this could have done untold damage to our cause.  Trust in such situations like in other walks of life is vital, you either have it or you don’t, and when you lose it you can so easily lose the lot!

What does this mean for anglers on the Lomond system in 2017?  Simply put we will once again be able to harvest limited numbers of salmon.  Members will receive 3 tags with their 2017 permit allocation which they will be able to use between 1 May and 30 September.  However, as always we ask that anglers show moderation and keep conservation and the future of your system to the fore when deciding whether to harvest a fish.

Finally, the committee would also like to thank the retiring chairman Malcolm MacCormick for the time and effort he put into the review, fantastic effort, and all our members and supporters who responded to the last consultation as this no doubt helped reinforce our very strong and persuasive case.

The committee

As members are aware a request has been made to hold an EGM and this will be held as soon as possible. Given the motion tabled we are attempting to identify an independent chair that is suitable to both parties.  A possible chair has been agreed but that person has still to be approached and their willingness to undertake this role together with their availability confirmed.

Once the above is confirmed then both parties will require to agree to a date for the EGM that is mutually suitable and coincides with the availability of the proposed chair.

Members should note the giving of the notice calling the EGM will be communicated by post once all of the the above is confirmed.  In addition the applicants have been asked again for further information to elucidate their claims and to give substance to what goes in the notice. We await their response and if received will include this in the call for an EGM.

 The Secretary

Later this week the committee will start the process of circulating to members an update on the categorisation for season 2017 as well as full details with regard to a request for an EGM. 

 This information will be forwarded by post and not published on line as the LLAIA  is a private members club and many members do not have access to the internet.

 We are hopeful that members will be in receipt of this information within the next 7 days.

The committee

As members will be aware the Lomond system was provisionally graded a category 3 water for season 2017.  Your committee has strongly challenged this and is currently awaiting the result of our appeal.  We believe this decision will be made sometime in the next few weeks and there is no doubt that this is the biggest challenge currently facing the Association.

In addition your committee have also entered into negotiation around future fishery management arrangements as instructed by members at our AGM in February.  To date nothing has been agreed but we can confirm that discussions have centred on retaining maximum independence for the Lomond system within a federated FMO structure. Please note that as stated at the AGM your committee will never enter into an FMO agreement without first obtaining the permission of our members.  Anyone saying otherwise is both wrong and / or attempting to mislead.

Once we can confirm what category the Lomond system will be in 2017 a full update will be provided to members which will cover not just the decision on categorisation but will also include information on internal and external matters.  It is hoped that this update will be distributed by the end of the month, however, we are reliant ultimately on the decision making of other organisations and will not make official comment on any ongoing issues until we have confirmation of our future categorisation.

Please bare with us at this time as a decision is expected in the near future.

The committee

As many members will be aware Marine Scotland have recently announced the revised categorisations for individual river systems around Scotland.  Once again catch return data has been pivotal in determining classification and the Lomond system has been judged to be a category 3, not because of catch levels across the entire Lomond catchment but because of the perceived lack of catches on a single tributary, the Endrick.  To be clear on this, it is only because the Endrick is located within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and has allegedly not reached a 60% likelihood of attaining the conservation limit that the whole of the Loch Lomond system has been classed as category 3 and in need of 100% catch and release.   

This is a spectacular case of the tail wagging the dog, however, we are not alone in being disadvantaged in this way as the Ness system has also fallen foul of such a ruling. 

So what will your committee do now?  Already we have questioned the validity of the wetted area calculation.  It will no doubt have come as a surprise to all our members that according to Marine Scotland the Endrick has salmon lochs!  This shows how suspect the calculation of the wetted area has been.  In addition we have repeatedly pointed out that the Association only owns or leases around 40% of the fishing on the Endrick, it does not access the remaining 60%.  This is important because it would appear that the percentage likelihood of adhering to the conservation level on the River Endrick has been calculated using our catch returns alone.  Finally what account has been taken of the spate nature of the river?  If there is no water then the runs of fish destined for the Endrick will sit tight in Loch Lomond.  Over the last 2 years we have had no meaningful water until the last 2 weeks of the fishing season and our catches were consequently depressed.  This year there has been more water and surprise, surprise our catches have been far healthier.

Any reasonable person reading the above would I believe come to the conclusion that the Marine Scotland methodology is hopelessly inaccurate and the resultant figures about likelihood of adherence to the conservation limit extremely unsafe and not fit for purpose.  Furthermore, we have the full support and backing of the loch Lomond Fisheries Trust (LLFT) in challenging the grade 3 categorisation.  

On the 21^st of September representatives from the Association and the LLFT will meet with representatives from the Salmon and Recreational Fisheries team as well as Marine Scotland to discuss the categorisation of the Endrick.  We believe that common sense can yet prevail. 

In the interim we would ask that all members write to the salmon and recreational fisheries team at salmonandrecreationalfisheries@gov.scot to express their objection of the categorisation of the Endrick and appeal the current ruling.  The future of your club is in your hands please make sure that you take the time to do something positive about this unjust and unfair state of affairs and voice your objections before the close of date of 29 September 2016.

A full update on this issue together with an assessment of where our future lies (or doesn’t lie) in relation to the formation of a FMO network across Scotland will be published in late October.

The committee

Membership Fees Now Overdue.

In terms of the Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association Constitution and Rules.

‘Any Member who has failed to pay his Annual subscription by the 1st day in March in any year shall be held in arrear, and any member still in arrear by the 1st day in June in any year shall, in option of the Committee, cease to be a member but shall, notwithstanding, be liable for all arrears. Members subscriptions for any season must be paid before they fish.’

Basically, this means that any member still intending to renew his/her full membership must do so before 1st of June or they will require to re-join and be liable for payment of a joining fee of £25. This will also disrupt the claim for ten years consecutive membership towards OAP discount.

Please forward any renewal subscriptions to our Treasurer without delay.

Full details and online forms on our homepage at LLAIA Membership

LLAIA Committee.

Good News For a Change..

We are delighted to announce that after over 40 years of operation Scottish Water are finally considering a significant revision of river flows at the Leven barrage following a request by the Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association.

A number of modelling scenarios have been created and while there will be further negotiations, the first positive result has been achieved, namely that the River Leven will, as a minimum, run bank to bank (weekend level) until at least the end of May.

Effectively this will lead to the first full successful spawning on the Leven since the early 1970’s and will be the equivalent of a major re-stocking exercise. It will also encourage fish into the river throughout the spring.

We will continue to negotiate with Scottish Water and SEPA in an effort to obtain the best possible outcome for our members and we will keep you updated on our progress.

LLAIA Committee.

 

 

 
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As members are now no doubt aware last week the RACCE committee voted on party lines and rejected the attempt by Alex Fergusson MSP to annul the proposed conservation measures. While extremely disappointing this result was not unexpected as it has been apparent from very early in this process of wild fishery reform that there would appear to be an agenda in play that is taking scant regard to either good science or anglers wishes.

 
Our lawyer who was looking into the possibilities of a challenge using judicial review has written to the committee stating he was impressed that the LLAIA had managed to achieved a good slice of the debate courtesy of Jackie Bailey MSP, it was a pity therefore that the vote went along party lines rather than on merit. The committee have no doubt that morally we won the argument but as noted above this process has in our opinion had little if anything to do with fact or natural justice.

 
It is worth noting that these conservation measures are being introduced in response to the threat of proceedings by the EU against Scotland for breach of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EC. If Scotland cannot show that it is compliant with the directive it faces the possibility of large fines from the EU. In order to meet our obligations under European law the conservation measures have been introduced with some speed. The result is that the measures have not been as fully and thoroughly thought through as might otherwise have been the case and while many believe the model utilised by MSS would appear to be fit for purpose, there are serious misgivings across Scotland about the quality of the data inputted into the model and a perceived lack of clarity regarding the process for its improvement.

 
An informal group of rivers Trust biologists sought to address areas of concern directly with MSS in late 2015. Particular areas of contention include:

 
• the ‘one size fits all’ approach. There is a criticism that the enormous variation in conditions around Scotland cannot be reflected in such an approach and there needs to be recognition of regional diversity.
• estimates for wetted area, inclusions of lochs
• estimates for fecundity (reproduction levels)

There would appear to be general agreement amongst Trust biologists that while there is a need for conservation limits and that the model could be used, the current data utilised by the model are not. It appears that MSS accept that the model needs to be improved and that it will be updated on an annual basis, which provides us with hope that we could shift our system to a category 2 or 1 if the data is in our favour.

 
Provided that the Scottish Government puts proper processes in place then our lawyer cannot see a prospect of a successful judicial review of the Scottish Government’s scheme. However, should the Government fail to make progress on this issue then there could be a case to challenge their approach in the courts, but this would not be until 2017 at the earliest. The implications of the above are therefore quite clear for the Association as we move into the current season:

 
• The Scottish Government has now turned the Loch Lomond fishery into a 100% catch and release salmon fishery for the 2016 season:

 
• All carcass tags issued up until this time are now null and void

 
• All salmon, whether alive, dying or dead must be returned to the water. There are no exceptions for bleeding fish or deeply hooked fish. Members should be aware that the Government have now passed legislation prohibiting the taking of any salmon in the Lomond system even if they are dying or dead and any infringement is now punishable in the courts.

 
• Sea trout can still be retained between 1 May and 30 September.

 
The committee are deeply disappointed with the way things have gone, we have lobbied at the highest levels and made an impact, however, in our opinion it would appear that this whole process was a done deal from the very beginning. Nevertheless we will continue to challenge on your behalf and will if necessary re-visit a possible legal challenge should the Government fail to deliver as they have indicated. We have also began to consider our options regarding a future FMO and we will update you on negotiations in due course.

 
Finally, on Thursday RAFTS met for their annual conference allowing committee members of the LLAIA to forcefully highlight our concerns regarding how conservation levels were reached and questing why the Association should engage with Government in the future with regards to the formation of an FMO within the Clyde FMA when they effectively ignored our concerns on conservation measures. Feedback on the day indicates that government want us ‘in the tent’, however, we must reserve the right to disengage if we think this is the appropriate route to take. We were also able to question MSS scientists around the licensing arrangements to control fish eating ducks. The points we made around a presumption for granting of licences to category 3 waters was very well received in the body of the hall and we await the results of our current application which should be with us very soon.

 
LLAIA Committee

On 23 February the Scottish Government Salmon and Recreational Fisheries Team sent an email that many of you may have either received or heard about. The email begins:

 
“Legislation was laid in the Scottish Parliament earlier today to introduce a package of conservation measures (including a separate Order covering the Tweed District) to manage the exploitation of Atlantic salmon. The measures come into force on 31 March 2016 and take effect from 1 April.

 
What was not made clear in this email was that while legislation was laid it has not been passed.

 
Indeed we can confirm that Mr Alex Fergusson MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale will move for a motion of annulment to stop this legislation being implemented which will result in it being taken to the RACCE committee who will consider the motion of annulment.

 
The committee believe that the RACCE Committee hearing will take place on or around 17 March and while we must be realistic and acknowledge that the composition of the committee means that a successful appeal is unlikely there is still a chance that this legislation can be thrown out at this stage.

 
Members may also be interested to know that the committee are still waiting to hear from our lawyers about our application to take our category 3 status to Judicial Review. We believe we have a strong case to successfully challenge the decision to place us in a category 3 but must wait and see whether the lawyers are prepared to take on our case.

 
Therefore for the avoidance of doubt we will continue to issue tags until the legislation is passed through parliament.
Members purchasing tickets should note that even though tags have been supplied, if the legislation is successfully introduced then the tags will be null and void and all anglers will have to comply with the Government decision to enforce 100% catch and release on the Lomond system.

LLAIA Committee.