Poachers beware!
POACHING…. now there's a word we have not heard for a while but all of a sudden it's back again and I thought I might look at the reasons behind it.
The first and main reason is the value of wild salmon on today's market.
Some of the fish farms are producing a very good and acceptable product, but many others fail to reach a standard of colour and texture and of course taste that the modern palate finds to it's liking.
Wild fish have the natural taste and are well muscled and thus find a huge market in the capitals of Europe and beyond, providing a product for which the affluent will pay a good premium in order to have the best.
A few years ago it became illegal for anglers to supply fish for sale to eating establishments etc. and thus a route closed and thence along comes a modern version of the "Poacher".
This one is equipped with modern communications, transport and the dreaded monofilament net which is invisible to the fish.
Motivated by profit alone they have no thought for the fragile stocks in our rivers and will take all that they find and they must have a marketing organisation in place in order to get the catch to an early fresh market.
What can be done, well in my opinion we must fight technology with modern surveillance systems and luckily there is a huge choice on the market and many easily adaptable to the riverbank.
Many so small that they would go unnoticed in the hours of darkness when our poachers are at work. The day's of Ghillies sitting out all night behind a tree are in the past and of course they had to leave their Land Rovers and vans somewhere and the poachers knew where.
Be warned you modern poachers I am sure you will find your trade very difficult to ply as the river becomes watched by the new microelectronic bailiff.
The new salmon season started last Friday and with high water levels I hear that fish caught were very few and so I will leave my report for two weeks when a much clearer picture should be available.
I am pleased to let you know that the seal problem on the South Esk is now one of the main problems being addressed by all major bodies in the area and I am very hopeful of a policy will be coming forward very soon.
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Weather for Brechin
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
