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In mid March 2002, the Scottish Parliaments first debate about
the basic principles of the Land Reform Bill, was accepted
by 92 votes to 16 . Our Group, the C.C.F.R.G., continually
asked the various proponents of the bill where the funding
was coming from to run, manage and maintain rivers that are
bought out. We are well aware that 20 million pounds has been
siphoned off from lottery money into the so called land fund
to purchase land or fishing's on behalf of crofting communities,
we have never had an answer to this question. We had the opportunity
again after our demonstration in Inverness. We had a meeting
with Dr. Jim Hunter, Chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise,
one of the leading proponents of the bill. Again they were
asked numerous times during the meeting where the money would
come from, we are still waiting on an answer! Of course we
know the only way they can hope to fund river systems will
be to use the public purse and when the population at large
decide they have had enough of subsidising salmon rivers they
will rapidly pull the plug. What these river systems need
is a continuity of management and investment which they have
had for well over a hundred years, all be it from horror of
horrors - private individuals. Incidentally a statement from
the land reform backers says, that it is a tremendous opportunity
for crofting communities to acquire and run salmon fishing's
even though it will be a 'financial burden on them', so even
they can see this but will not admit it if pushed.
Apparently
their political objective outweighs all else.
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Smolts
killed on Crofting Community River
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Another very worrying incident came to light recently,
this involved the Assynt Crofters Trust, who have installed
a hydro dam on a river system which has migratory fish.
They did not bother to install a fish pass, subsequently
salmon smolts were found dead in the tail race of the
dam and par and fry are still in evidence in the upper
parts of the system above the dam. These fish have no
way of descending safely and access to the upper reaches
is denied to returning salmon/sea-trout. This is strictly
illegal. The consultants who built the dam when asked
at the time why a fish pass was not included in the plans,
the answer was the added financial burden of adding a
fish pass (which is a legal obligation) would make
the project financially unviable! At the meeting in Inverness,
we were told personally by Jim Hunter that it was an insult
to crofting communities to infer that they could not manage
and run salmon rivers. We were apparently wrong to state
that we all had a knowledge of our river systems and that
each one was unique and there was a continuity of management
infrastructure which has been build up over the years,
which is being used for the benefit of the salmon and
their environment. This should be acknowledged and not
dismantled and handed over to those who have no knowledge
and even less interest in the above other than hoping
to make a quick buck. I understand that at the parliament
meeting in March again it was stated it was an insult
to suggest salmon river management could not be taken
away and well managed by crofting communities or communities,
well if the Assynt debacle is anything to go by and if
the situation is not reversed by May this year, this will
be the second year salmon smolts will have been unable
to migrate safely. The Assynt Crofting Community sponsored
and backed by H.I.E. and its chairman Jim Hunter will
have the dubious honour of wiping out a protected species
from a river system in record time. I think our fears
are well founded and does not fill me with optimism for
the future management of our rivers and our salmon. |
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