About us...
Currently Scotland has 49 constituted District Salmon Fishery Boards (DSFBs), the River Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board (RDevDSFB) is one of these in the North East. Our adjacent Boards are the Spey, Ugie, Don and Ythan.
The RDevDSFB was originated by the Salmon Fisheries Act of the 19th century. The RDevDSFB constitution, along with other Boards, was changed in 1986 and is now provided for by the 1986 Salmon Act.
The Deveron District comprises the natural catchment area of the River Deveron, which includes the rivers Bogie and Isla. The District includes some important burns, The Burn of Boyne, The Water of Philorth, and the Water of Troupe. All of these discharge into the North Sea on Aberdeenshire's north coast, for which the RDevDSFB has responsibility between Cowhythe Point and Cairnbulg Point.
Salmon fisheries in Scotland are owned either by individuals or by clubs or associations. The costs of the local administration, protection and improvement of these fisheries is financed by those owners. The District Boards finance their activities by levying a rate, which is sometimes substantial, on the owners. The owners elect their representatives to the Board at triennual elections. The Board is required in law to include representatives of Salmon Anglers and Salmon Netsman. In addition to these representatives, the RDevDSFB has representatives of local Angling associations and clubs. The powers and duties of a DSFB are summarised below:
Powers
- To act, undertake works and incur expenses for the protection and improvement of the fisheries within their districts, for the increase of salmon and sea-trout and the stocking of the district with these fish.
- To impose financial assessments on each salmon fishery in the district, and to charge interest on arrears.
- To borrow funds, and to incur a wide range of expenditure in furtherance of their powers and duties.
- To appoint bailiffs to enforce the salmon fisheries legislation.
- To exempt persons from certain provisions of the law for scientific or other purposes.
- To sue in the name of the clerk.
Duties
- To appoint a clerk
- To maintain a list of proprietors within the DSFBs district
- To produce an annual report and audited accounts and to consider these at an AGM
- To call a triennial electoral meeting
Boards have no ability to make legal restrictions on fishing of their own accord. They must ask Ministers to make regulatory measures for their district. Until recently Boards were limited by statute to asking for local regulations to prohibit the use of certain baits or lures or for orders to alter the annual close time for fishing.
With the passing of the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Act 2001, Boards can now make applications to Ministers for a greater range of statutory measures to allow them to manage and conserve more effectively the fish and fisheries in their district. For the first time, it also gives Ministers powers to make regulations of their own initiative to conserve salmon.
Research
The Deveron, Bogie & Isla Rivers Charitable Trust has various programmes of work in progress. These programmes include: stock restoration; riparian habitat enhancement schemes and collaborative projects with organisations and businesses operating in the catchment whose activities might have an impact on fisheries such as forestry, agriculture or hydro electric power generation.
