CHARLIE WHELAN: Reason for lack of tight lines on the Spey is obvious
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Congratulations are in order to the River Dee Trust and the Dee Fishery Board in completing the biggest dam removal ever in Scotland.
The massive Garlogie dam on the Dunecht Estate in Aberdeenshire has been a barrier for migrating fish and a no-go area for all wildlife for many years.
It’s good to know that some people are listening to the wise words from my old pal Feargal Sharkey who warned on his visit to Boat of Garten in the spring that Atlantic Salmon are in danger of extinction unless drastic action is taken.
Regrettably some of those people who were in the room at the launch of the Spey Catchment initiative to hear Feargal weren’t listening.
Those representing Sanjeev Gupta who owns the 114,000 acre Jahama Estate and the Spey dam are more interested in hiring spin doctors to hide the damage their dam does than actually admitting it needs to go.
This year salmon catches on the Spey were the worst ever and yes, worse than the previous lowest recorded last year. On the Grantown waters just 25 salmon were caught on the traditional fly rod and, no, I wasn’t one of the few successful anglers.
We have a choice here either we sit back do nothing and wait until the salmon disappear altogether or we demand that those responsible for the state of our rivers actually do something.
This starts with the Scottish Government who have not only done nothing but made matters worse by allowing more and more open cage fish farms which help destroy the wild species. And how about the RSPCA who landed £700,000 from fish farms to give assured health certificates when everyone can see the death of hundreds of thousands of fish riddled with disease.
The RSPCA alone gave out 246 certificates which takes green washing to new levels.
It’s hard to blame fishery boards too much because we know they are trying to do their best but it surely can’t be right that the very owners of the fishing rights are the same people who own the land and farms that also pollute our rivers?
Organisations like the Spey Catchment initiative are very worthy and do a good job but how can they genuinely fight for the river when the owners of the Spey dam are also represented?
Every day I take my dog for a walk along the river Dulnain but I no longer have to worry about her eating the dead salmon that have spawned because there aren’t any!
• Before you know it we will be having a General Election. With both the SNP and the Scottish Tories in meltdown will we get to see a Scottish Labour MP back in the strath?
Labour are actually further ahead in the polls than they were in 1997 when I worked for Gordon Brown and David Stewart won this Highlands seat for the party.
The latest Sunday Times MRP poll for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey has Labour leading the way on 31 per cent the Nats second on 30 per cent and the Tories on 27 per cent.
This leaves the seat wide open though don’t be surprised to find bogus claims from the Liberals that they are in second place and are the only party that can defeat the separatists.
The slight problem for Labour is that they haven’t selected their candidate yet so any socialists out their who fancy a job in Westminster to get a better deal for those who live and work in the area get in touch with Labour and, no, I won’t be running!
Charlie Whelan (Labour) was spokesman for Gordon Brown.
