Annan Fishery Management Plan - RAFTS

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River Annan DSFB Fisheries Management Plan 2009 – 20146Industrial /construction sitepollution7Forestry Activities8Poaching9PredationAnother significant temporary barrier is the Milnbie Caul which is atthe head of the tide on the Annan. This structure has a reasonablyeffective fish pass on it but whilst most of the time migratorysalmonids can gain access it almost certainly acts as atemperature barrier for the upstream movement of Spring salmonin the early months of the year. It also acts as a total barrier for theupstream movement of lampreys and many of the freshwaterspecies that are present on this beat below the weir. It is also abarrier for the upstream movement of Eels that although passableresults in very heavy predatory losses.2 The construction of roads, gas pipelines and other industries hasfrom time to time impacted heavily on certain parts of the river. Theprinciple pollution that has been produced by these operations hasbeen suspended solids (although such as oil and other chemicalsmay have been present on a less frequent basis). More currentrisks will come from the construction of wind farms and theirassociated structures such as sub-stations.2 In the older plantations, primarily the privately owned ones,problems exist with tunnelling and the associated problems ofreduced productivity and siltation. In heavily planted areas theremay be increased drying out of minor watercourses in the summermonths (probably important to sea trout) but little work has yetbeen done to determine whether this is the case or not. Due to theunderlying geology, coniferous forestry does not seem toexacerbate acid problems but this may be the case in verylocalised areas.1 Poaching will probably always be present in a fishery, however atthe moment there is no data that can support a conclusion that it iscausing severe damage. In the past when poaching on a seriousscale was more prevalent it is likely that the impact was moresevere. The greatest problem is likely to be in the Solway (mostly,but not exclusively, outwith our district) where „legal‟ netting forMullet and Sea Bass catches has a by catch of salmon and seatrout.1 A background level of predation of fish will always be a factor thataffects fisheries however whether or not this is significant willlargely be down to the time of year and abundance of stocksavailable to the predator. At the moment the two biggest concernsare: cormorants in the Autumn which are targeting herling in areaswhere they have accumulated in low water conditions; andgoosanders and cormorants in the late winter and spring monthswhen smolts of either trout or salmon are moving on the river. Minkalso represent a predatory issue, particularly in small burns duringspawning periods; the level of this activity is difficult to determine.21
River Annan DSFB Fisheries Management Plan 2009 – 201410FisheriesExploitation11Alien invasivespecies12Climate change13Sea Survival1 There is little data to support a conclusion that exploitation iscausing severe problems in the majority of the fishery however withsome stock and species the issue may be significant. Springsalmon for example are in such low numbers that any exploitationis likely to be detrimental. Sea trout numbers also are low and areduction in exploitation may be of help. In the Solway there existsa mixed stock fishery that has reduced in recent years, howeverlittle is known about the origin of the fish caught in this fishery. As amixed stock fishery it is likely that further scrutiny will be placed onthe fishery in the future.1 The Annan already has a huge amount of introduced fish speciesand in many cases the effects are either passive or even ifproblematical very difficult to resolve. Note these are not just fishspecies but may be anything that impacts the river and is not nativeto the Annandale area (they may in some cases be UK native).Botanical invasives are more problematical with Japaneseknotweed and Himalayan balsam being of particular concern.There is not thought to be any invertebrate species of concern butthere have been unconfirmed reports of signal crayfish. Withmammals, the North American mink poses a problem.3 Whilst overall changes in the climate will not be changed by actionsfrom the Annan DSFB it is likely to have a severe impact and mayalready be doing so. Temperatures in smaller burns (important forsea trout) may already be causing problems but as yet there isinsufficient data to support this on a local basis.3 For the migratory species in the Annan District, changes in seasurvival over the last few years will have had a dramatic effect onproductivity. Other than at a very local basis with net fisheries andpoaching, little can be done at a local management level.Whilst all of these factors are in a rough order of significance items 1 – 5 areprobably equally the most important and in many ways are related. 5 – 7 are alsovery important but will probably only have localised impacts in most cases. 8, 9and 10 are related with 8 and 9 being the most important only because we haveno idea about the level of exploitation that is created by illegal fishing and thetrue level of predation of ours stocks. 11 is very difficult to assess as we have nodata from before any of the introduced species came to the river. It is potentiallya bigger problem if other new species such as signal crayfish were to appear.The biggest threat in this section would be the introduction of G. salaris whichwould have a devastating effect. 12 and 13 may well be the most important of allbut extremely difficult to assess with the tools currently available to the AnnanDSFB.22
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