Anglers raise £8,000 for the Tay Foundation
at salmon closing party.
The closing of the Tay salmon fishing season
was celebrated in Kenmore on Friday 15th of October.
The event which is sponsored by Hello! Magazine,
Normark and Mitchells of Pitlochry attracted over
80 rods with permit sales being donated to the
Tay Foundation a charitable trust charged with
looking after the River Tay including the salmon.
In the evening the last boat in from Loch Tay
was piped in, greeted with fireworks and the traditional
dram. This was followed by a gala diner held at
the Kenmore Hotel. An auction was held on behalf
of the Foundation with an astonishing £8,000
being raised for river rehabilitation work.
Thanks are due to the companies, which generously
made donations for the auction (Normark, Mitchells
of Pitlochry, Hello!, Kenmore Hotel, Taymouth
Castle Estate, Croft-na-caber, PD Malloch, Fly
Fishing and Fly Tying Magazine). A similar auction
will take place on the opening (January 15th
2000).
Richard Blake, Clerk to the Tay Foundation Trustees,
expressed the thanks of the Trustees to all who
participated and contributed to the raising of
this substantial sum. These fund raising initiatives
are always most welcome. The trustees are currently
considering how to take matters forward in terms
of the objectives of the Trust following the completion
of the leasing off of the main estuarial nets.
Any requests for financial assistance for projects
in the Tay system will be carefully considered
by the Trustees after consultation with the recently
appointed Fisheries Manager of the Tay District
Salmon Fisheries Board, Dr David Summers.
The number of returning salmon continues to cause
alarm in the angling fraternity. Many of the problems
(industrial fishing, netting, predation, parasites
and global warming etc.) are thought to lie at
sea. But this does not mean we can lower our guard
at home. Initiatives by the Tay District Salmon
Fisheries Board have introduced catch and release
and a ban on prawn fishing to further conserve
fish stocks. It is pleasing to note that on the
Upper Tay over half of the salmon caught are now
being returned so that they can spawn naturally.
Salmon fishing is recognised as being of critical
importance to the economy of Tayside and Scotland.
It is imperative that we do everything in our
power to ensure that future generations can enjoy
the sport. The Tay Foundation has already been
successful in removing the nets from the river
and estuary. It is hoped that with continued financial
support the Foundation will be able to extend
its work to include river rehabilitation work,
which can have a further significant impact on
salmon stocks. |
