Annan Fishery Management Plan - RAFTS

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River Annan DSFB Fisheries Management Plan 2009 – 2014activity was the reduction of poaching which appears to have been a far moreserious problem than it is now. The most shocking element appears to be thefrequency of poisoning events with Cymag (no longer produced) being the mostpopular chemical. The profits from poaching could be considerable with, forexample, one confiscated fish being sold for £35 at a time when the Head Bailiffs‟weekly wage was only £19.In the late eighties and early nineties the Board became very active as a result ofactivities and proposed activities on the river. The first of these was the proposedimpoundment of parts of the river to form a reservoir for the expansion ofChapplecross Power Station. The Board, probably for the first time, elected tomove to the appointment of a scientific consultant, Dr David Solomon, to help todefend the interests of the river. This resulted, in amongst other things, the firstcatchment wide electrofishing surveys and also a small radio trackingprogramme to determine the areas that were most important for salmonspawning. The Board also asked for the opinion of Dr Solomon about the meritsof restocking the river. The opinion of Dr Solomon was that it was not required.Despite this in the early 90s some 250,000 fry were stocked by the BaronyCollege in parts of the Kinnel and Ae. This stocking activity was short lived.Another major civil project that caused majorproblems and stimulated the Board into furtheraction was the construction of the M74 from Gretnato Johnstonebridge. This project was very poorlymanaged and created significant problems in theAnnan and Kirtle with large volumes of heavilysedimented water discharging down the river atregular intervals. A number of successfulprosecutions were brought against the contractorswith the example on the left resulting in a £10,000fine. Unfortunately this did little good for the river asthe money just went to the exchequer! As a resultthe Board started to form the opinion that a morestrategic way forward was needed with someone onthe ground available who was able to deal withthese issues and try and stop them happening inthe first place.In 1993 the Annan Board became affiliated to what was then called the WestGalloway Fisheries Trust (now the Galloway Fisheries Trust). One of the firstmajor effects of this was the production of a habitat survey of the whole of theriver which identified where problems were. This would lead to the formation ofthe Annan‟s first management plan in 1995. What was clearly identified in theplan was that there was a need for a member of staff to take forward therecommendations and also the need to develop a funding package to implementthem. Galloway Fisheries Trust and one Board member in particular, David25
River Annan DSFB Fisheries Management Plan 2009 – 2014Rothwell, worked hard on this plan and a package of funding from the RoadsDirective (partly compensation for problems caused in the first phase of the M74upgrade), Scottish Natural Heritage, European Development Fund (5b) andBNFL. This secured the funds for a five year programme of habitat improvementand secured a member of staff to deal with issues such as the new upgrade ofthe M74 from Johnstonebridge to Beattock Summit.In 1997 the appointment of the Environmental Manager was made. The primaryrole of this job was to implement an ambitious habitat improvement programme,to liaise with the Road Construction Company (M6JV), provide an educationalprogramme and to put in place scientific monitoring procedures.In 1997 annual electrofishing surveys started which have continued more or lessinterrupted since then. This work, whilst of little value in the first two or threeyears, becomes increasingly valuable as time passes on.The motorway constructionalso began and closeliaison was almostimmediate with the Boardhaving an influence in suchthings as culvert designand water quality controls.In general, although therewas some teethingproblems at the beginning,this resulted in themotorwaybeingconstructed in asenvironmentally friendlyway as possible, indeed in many respects it became a model for environmentallysensitive road construction that is still used to this day. As a result of thegoodwill generated a number of impassable culverts were upgraded with fishpasses (example on the Cogries burn in the picture above) and significanterosion control works were undertaken on parts of the Moffat water.The habitat improvement programmedelivered something in the order of45,000m of river bank fencing andmany bank improvements in areas ofunnatural instability with the use oftechniques such as log and Christmastree and rock revetments. The mainareas that work was carried out were inthe Kinnel Water, Moffat Water and theAnnan water. Some of this work had26
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