Covid-19 heralds return of the poacher!

 by DOUG COLLIE

A generation ago a veritable army of salmon poachers were making life hell for the overworked team of River Tweed water bailiffs tasked with protecting fish stocks for the legitimate angling fraternity who paid handsomely for their sport.

At the time hundreds of 'illegal' nets were seized during night time patrols of river banks across the Scottish Borders. And a hard core of poachers gained notorious reputations as they somehow managed to outfox the men from the River Tweed Commission [RTC].

But more recently the level of poaching activity has dwindled to a mere trickle with the salmon and trout left to their own nocturnal devices.

However, the 2020 RTC annual report submitted to salmon fishing proprietors this week records more than 50 incidents of illegal activity last year with 13 gill nets seized and a number of miscreants dealt with by the courts. And fishery officers as they are now known 'struggled at times to keep up'.

Karl Ferguson, RTC's Head Fishery Officer writes: "During the strict lockdown period of April and May, most people complied with the government restrictions with the team only having to respond to minor incidents around the catchment. 

"As restrictions started to be relaxed on both sides of the border illegal fishing activity significantly increased around the catchment. With incidents reported from all over, the team struggled at times to keep up. This was a trend experienced throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK."

He explains that In preparation for the 2020 season, the enforcement team adopted an enforcement recording app that had been developed by the River Dee enforcement team. The app, which is on all enforcement officer phones, can be used to record information relating to offences and reports from around the catchment.

There were 52 significant incidents, 35 on the main river itself with others spread across tributaries. Equipment used included spinning tackle, fly tackle and gill nets.

According to Mr Ferguson: "The most common illegal activity encountered by the team during 2020 was people fishing without permission. This became a major issue during the relaxation of Covid19 restrictions. This was partly down to the lack of outlets being open to obtain permissions but also people just being desperate to get out of the house. 

"Many of the offenders had very little fishing experience and were oblivious to the fact that they required permission to fish. The enforcement team tries to educate rather than charge in many of these circumstances. Seven individuals were reported to the Procurator Fiscals Office in Scotland for various poaching offences, while others were dealt with by verbal or written warning from the RTC.

Mr Ferguson says reports and signs of illegal netting activity in the Tweed Estuary began to increase towards the end of May, this coincided with large numbers of salmon and sea trout entering the system on each tide. The enforcement team seized thirteen gill nets, 10 salmon and one sea trout during 2020. Four persons were charged in connection with the illegal netting; they subsequently appeared in Bedlington Magistrates Court in September. Each was fined just under £400 and banned from Hallowstell Beach [at Berwick] for 2 years; "this was a significant and welcome improvement on previous sentences".

The RTC equipped all the enforcement team with thermal imaging binoculars during 2020. Mr Ferguson writes: "They have proved to be invaluable when carrying out night operations. The events taking place in darkness can now be recorded and used as supporting evidence.

As we reported at the end of the 2020 Tweed salmon fishing season in November anglers enjoyed a much more successful year than any since 2013.

The RTC report shows: "The total rod catch of 9,614 represented a 67% increase on the previous year with the months of June, July, August and September being particularly productive. The sea trout catch was still good at 1872 albeit that this was slightly down from the previous year’s figure."