Archive for May, 2014

Committee Update – 12.05.2014.

Monday, May 12th, 2014

Committee Update

Proposals On The Future Direction of the Association

As far as your Committee are concerned the primary aim of the Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association(LLAIA) is, and will remain, the improvement of the fishing in the Loch Lomond system. We are committed to taking all such actions that may be necessary or advisable to secure the improvement of the fishing in the waters owned or leased by the Association.  There are certain key areas of business that we will seek to prioritise this year and in the years to come, if we are provided with the backing of the members. These priorities are as follows:

1)  Continue to enhance the fishing environment for all our members

There has been a large amount of work undertaken on the upper Endrick of late, which has allowed better access to this water for our members.  In particular, stiles and bridges now enable our less mobile anglers to fish this water from Fintry down to Honeyholm Bridge.  Looking ahead, we wish to continue to improve the lower portions of the Endrick that we own or lease as well as upgrading the Fruin to the same standard. 

That is not all we want to do though.  We are keen to tackle access issues on the River Leven. Thanks to the presence of the tow path, we feel it could be developed into the best restricted mobility salmon fishery in the UK. This would include the reinstatement of steps into the river and the re-construction of casting platforms on certain sections.  Not only would this enhance our fishery, it is hoped that it would also attract anglers from out with the area who could potentially benefit the local economy.

2)  Work towards improving our understanding of the fishery and use this information to help improve our stocks

Over the last 6 weeks volunteers have been working on a daily basis on the smolt trap on the River Endrick.The information that we have obtained is helping to provide crucial data about the health of our fishery, building on much good work that was undertaken in the past.  We, as a Committee, are keen to move this forward. This year we wish to survey the burns that run directly into the River Leven as well as some of the burns that feed the Loch.  These results will not just sit in a file. They will be used to address outstanding issues in these tributaries that were once key spawning areas.

We are also looking to support the Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust (LLFT) in tackling the Invasive Non Native Species (“INNS Project”) that have colonised the banks of the River Endrick.  This is not just an Endrick problem. If we do not take action it will become a system wide problem as we can already see on some sections of the River Leven.

We also wish to obtain permission to control certain predators that are decimating our stocks of juvenile fish. A recent survey on the Endrick identified over 60 gooseanders in a 4 hour period.  Research indicates that these birds can eat anything up to 5 juvenile fish per day.  We also need to curtail the mink population. They are not only predating on our fish but they are killing the birds and mammals that enhance our fishing experience.  

3)  Act robustly when it comes to tackling pollution incidents and the impact of sudden water drops on the River Leven

We have established excellent working relationships with SEPA and have been involved in highlighting issues on most of our major tributaries as well as the River Leven. As recently as Thursday last week we were involved in alerting the authorities to a significant pollution scare on the Leven involving a hydrocarbon slick that ran for over a mile.  We want to be able to continue to tackle pollution incidents quickly no matter where they occur.

We also were on hand to record a major juvenile fish kill on the River Leven last month. This occurred when the gates to the barrage were raised too quickly. Potentially thousands of fry could be stranded together with lampreys and invertebrates that the juvenile fish feed on.  We will be making representation on this matter to Scottish Water in the near future. 

4)  Continue to develop and enhance our bailiffing operation

We will continue to drive joint approaches to tackling poaching and will be working with various partners in the coming months on this matter.

5)  Represent the Association’s Interests in the Wild Fisheries Review

With the creation of the Wild Fisheries Review Group there are clear challenges ahead for fishing associations and clubs such as our own which manage salmon and sea trout fisheries.  The Chair of this body, Andrew Thin, has invited anyone with an interest in wild fisheries to provide written evidence to the group.  To help protect your interests your Committee has requested and been given stakeholder status. We will be invited to a forthcoming discussion that will take place in June in an attempt to look after your interests in this matter.  There are several challenges not the least of which is the proposal by some, in other parts of the country, to adopt a 100% catch and release policy across Scotland. 

Information on the call for evidence and the Group can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/wildfisheriesreview.

So bearing the above in mind, how would you rather the Committee spent our time?  As you can see we are focused clearly on improving the system, protecting our interests and trying to deliver an acceptable future for our members. We now feel it is important this strategy is endorsed by our members. 

Additionally I would like to add that nowhere in the above list of priorities will you find any mention of spending time chewing over past conflicts.  Far too much energy has been wasted on this already. The decision taken to honour a promise made at the 2009 EGM subsequent to any challenge made by members was made in good faith.  As that decision is now in the process of being actively challenged by certain individuals the Committee have decided to call an EGM in early June to seek ratification of (1) our strategy for moving forward and (2) the decision to honour the 2009 EGM promise.  Members will be provided with further details in the next 7 / 10 days.

 

Malcolm MacCormick

Chairman LLAIA.

Committee Update -10.05.2014

Saturday, May 10th, 2014

Update on Treasurer Position

As was noted in our last Committee update the treasurer has resigned from the Committee.  Prior to re-allocating the role within the Committee we would like to hear from any interested members who might wish to undertake this role on a voluntary basis.  Anyone wishing to discuss this matter should contact the Chairman, in confidence, through the Association office on 0141 353 5004 on or before Thursday 15 May. 

 

Update on River Clean Ups

It is with regret that we will have to postpone the proposed clean ups on the River Fruin on Sunday 11 May and the River Leven on the weekend of 17 May.  The forecast for this weekend is wet and a high water will curtail our activities on the Fruin.  The long range forecast for the next week is also wet, particularly for the middle of the week, and with the gates lowered on the Leven it is unlikely that they will be raised by next weekend.  

We will keep you informed as to alternative dates which will now most likely be in the beginning of June at the earliest.

LLAIA Committee.

Honorary Membership Awards.

Thursday, May 1st, 2014

Committee Announcement

At the 2014 AGM of the Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association changes were made to the constitution in relation to the granting of honorary memberships.  Following the AGM this generated queries relating to individuals who had in the past been awarded honorary memberships but were not included on the current Association list of honorary members. 

In addition to the above a formal request was tabled by a current member, supported by other members, asking that a commitment made by myself on behalf of the group I represented at the EGM of 2009 should be implemented.  This commitment was to award Mr Angus MacRitchie, fishery manager, and Mr Michael Brady, Chairman of the Association, honorary memberships should our group be elected.  I can confirm this commitment was agreed by our group before the EGM and was made in front of over 200 members on the night of the EGM.  According to the member making this request this was unfinished business that predated the amendments that were made to the constitution in 2014 and if settled would allow a line to be drawn on the past, which several members including myself had called for at the last AGM.

As a result of this request a discussion was held at the committee meeting on 24 April 2014 as to whether this commitment should be honoured.  This was not an easy matter to address and there were differing views expressed and following a show of hands a majority of committee members voted to honour this commitment.  Given the strong links between the group in 2009 and the committee elected in 2012 (all the office bearers were from that group) I personally think this was the right decision under the circumstances, however, like any other decision the committee makes members are at liberty to challenge this decision should they wish. 

As a direct result of this vote the treasurer has resigned from the committee.  His duties will be picked up by other committee members in the interim prior to a new treasurer being appointed in due course.  The issues surrounding the other honorary members have also been resolved.

Malcolm MacCormick

Chairman