AN ancient fishing tradition dating back more than 1,000 years faces being wiped out under new restrictions on the killing of wild salmon, it has been warned.
The method of haaf-netting, which was inherited from the Vikings and has seen Annan fishermen wade into the Solway with giant homemade nets before dispatching fish with a wooden mallet since around the year 900, is to be hit by new measures designed to protect salmon numbers.
The Scottish Government is forcing through regulations that will see the killing of salmon banned in the waters through a blanket catch and release policy, while efforts to win an exemption for the haaf fishermen on historic and cultural grounds have so far failed.
A last-ditch bid to throw out the new rules, which it has been warned will also impact on angling clubs and fishing businesses and are set to come into force within weeks, will be mounted at Holyrood today.
Barry Turner, secretary of Annan Royal Burgh Fishermen’s Association, said his town acknowledged that commercial fishing with nets would stop but residents would not accept an end to its historic tradition as a result of "draconian and inflexible" legislation.
He called for the fishermen to be granted a restricted quota of salmon – a concession granted by English agencies to Solway haaf-netters – and to introduce new laws to ensure the pursuit is protected for generations to come.
Charters granted by King James V in 1538 and King James V1 in 1612 confirmed the fishing rights for Annan people, according to Mr Turner, while a statue of a haaf-netter greets visitors to the town as a signal of its importance to their identity.
He added: "It would constitute a dark irony indeed, if the Scottish National Party, which was elected to govern on the premise that it would listen to the Scottish people and respect their history and traditions decided, at a stroke, to destroy a vital part of our town’s cultural and historic identity.
"It is important to appreciate that haaf-netting is a hobby, not a commercial activity. The practice can and must be preserved albeit at a reduced level. It is an activity unique to the Solway estuary and has been carried out in Annan since Viking times."
He added that other indigenous groups, such as residents of the Isle of Lewis who are allowed to cull 2,000 gannet chicks annually, are granted exemptions from laws protecting wildlife in recognition of their heritage.
The fishermen have the backing of SNP MSP Joan McAlpine, who has met Environment Minister Aileen McLeod to make their case and won cross-party support for a Holyrood motion in which she said the "ancient practice of haaf-netting must be allowed to continue".
As there is no mortality rate for fish caught then released through haaf-netting, while 10 to 20 per cent of fish die after being caught with a hook then set free, the traditional fishermen argue they should be able to keep the same number of fish which anglers inadvertently kill when they catch and release salmon.
Ms McAlpine said that while she supported efforts to protect salmon stocks, the haaf-netters should be given special protection, given their heritage.
She added: "I feel strongly this is a unique tradition and a cultural activity. It's been going on for over 1000 years, there's not many that do it and it's extremely arduous physical activity. They're changing with the times, but they'd still like to take some fish home.
"It's something that's handed down from father to son and it's important to keep the skills going. I've been lobbying hard on this, the minister understands the arguments and I'm still hopeful that they'll come up with something. It would be a tragedy if this ended."
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Marine Scotland is aware of the cultural importance of this activity.
"Under the Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulations 2016 the River Annan has been assessed as a having a poor conservation status. It is, however, a category three area and the haaf netting activity can continue under catch and release."
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