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Tag Archives: Tweed
Malloch Challenge Trophy for heaviest salmon back after 10 year absence
The beautiful Malloch Challenge Trophy – a solid silver leaping salmon and the most desired award in Scottish angling, is coming back into circulation after an absence of ten years.
It was first awarded in 1972 for a 43lb salmon caught on the Tweed and until 1999 was awarded annually to the fisherman credited with the heaviest salmon landed in the season,
Since 1999 – when it was awarded for a 33lb salmon on the River Spey, it has been withdrawn from competition. Why? Well strict conservation measures had an impact on landings and this situation was aggravated by the consequent withdrawal of sponsorship.
The Tay Salmon Foundation has now acquired the trophy and is restoring it to competition. The winning fish must have been caught on a fly and released alive back into the water.This requirement now neatly associates the trophy with conservation.
During the 28 years of its previous competitive life, the Malloch Trophy was awarded for fish landed from a variety of rivers including the Dee, Spey, Tweed, Tay and Naver.
The 2009 salmon season opens on some of Scotland’s northern rivers – the Helmsdale, Thurso, Naver, Borgie, Oykel, Cassley and Carron – on Monday 12th January and on the Tay on Thursday 15th January.
Some good news for the conservation of Scotland’s wild Atlantic salmon
Good to see the results of the Conservation of Atlantic Salmon in Scotland project (CASS). Four and a half years work has already gone into the project which will be over by July this year. SNH are running a two-day conference today and tomorrow , assessing what’s been done and what’s been learned. All of this will help to shape future conservation measures to protect our Atlantic salmon population. The species is recognised by the EC Habitats Directive as a threatened species. While none of Argyll’s rivers were included in the CASS project, it focused on nine major Scottish rivers: the Dee, Spey, Tweed, Tay, South Esk, Bladnoch, Oykel and Moriston.
Most of us anglers worry about things like obstacles to the salmon getting in to and up the rivers; commercial netting on the rivers and on the access routes to them; extraction of water from the rivers; silting from run-offs from forestry schemes; gravel extraction; grazing farm beasts breaking down river banks etc. The project’s actions seem to have made a difference on these fronts in modest trial schemes on the test rivers.
All the big boys are at the SNH conference on the Tay. Michael Russell, the Environment Minister has opened it and Argylll man Colin Galbraith, SNH’s Director of Policy and Advice addressed it. Let’s hope they keep their eyes on this ball. Our Atlantic salmon need serious and sustained conservation.
It’s worth noting that the EC’s Water Framework Directive 2000 applies to all rivers, lochs, estuaries and coastal waters as well as water under the ground. It aims to achieve good surface water status by 2015. SEPA is working on the first draft of a new River Basin Management Planning process (consultation in December 2008) designed to deliver this aim.