2025 Meeting Dates of The River Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board:
Currently Scotland has 41 constituted District Salmon Fishery Boards, the River Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board is one of these in the North East.
The Board was originated by the Salmon Fisheries Act of the 19th century. The Boards constitution, along with other Boards, was changed in 2003 and is now provided for by the 2003 & 2013 Acts.
The Boards management district comprises the natural catchment area of the river Deveron, which includes the rivers Bogie and Isla. The district includes some important coastal burns, The Burn of Boyne, The Water of Philorth, and the Water of Troupe. All of these discharge into the North Sea on Aberdeenshire’s north coast, for which the Board has responsibility between Cowhythe Head (NJ 6144 6662) and Cairnbulg point (NK 0358 6565).
The Boards management district comprises the natural catchment area of the river Deveron, which includes the rivers Bogie and Isla.
Salmon fisheries in Scotland are owned either by individuals or by clubs or associations. The costs of the local administration, protection and improvement of these fisheries are financed by those owners. The District Boards finance their activities by levying a rate, which is sometimes substantial, on the owners. The owners elect their representatives to the Board at triennual elections.
The Board is required in law to include representatives of Salmon Anglers and Salmon Netsman. In addition to these representatives, the Board has representatives of local Angling associations and clubs. The powers and duties of a Board are summarised below
Powers
- To act, undertake works and incur expenses for the protection and improvement of the fisheries within their districts, for the increase of salmon and sea-trout and the stocking of the district with these fish.
- To impose financial assessments on each salmon fishery in the district, and to charge interest on arrears.
- To borrow funds, and to incur a wide range of expenditure in furtherance of their powers and duties.
- To appoint bailiffs to enforce the salmon fisheries legislation.
- To exempt persons from certain provisions of the law for scientific or other purposes.
- To sue in the name of the clerk.
Duties
- To appoint a clerk
- To maintain a list of proprietors within the DSFBs district
- To produce an annual report and audited accounts and to consider these at an AGM
- To call a triennial electoral meeting
Boards have no ability to make legal restrictions on fishing of their own accord. They must ask Scottish Ministers to make regulatory measures for their district. Until recently Boards were limited by statute to asking for local regulations to prohibit the use of certain baits or lures or for orders to alter the annual close time for fishing.
With the passing of the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Act 2001, Boards can now make applications to Ministers for a greater range of statutory measures to allow them to manage and conserve more effectively the fish and fisheries in their district. For the first time, it also gives Ministers powers to make regulations of their own initiative to conserve salmon.
In terms of Section 46(E) of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013, Fishery Boards are required to maintain and review arrangements for registering and declaring the relevant financial interests of Board Members.
If you have any complaints about the Board, please refer to the the RDevDSFB Complaints Procedure.
The Deveron Fishery Board holds certain personal data for the purpose of fulfilling its statutory responsibilities under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003, which includes the protection of salmon fisheries within its district. We will only pass personal data to third parties without the consent of the data subject where it is necessary for us to do so in support of our statutory responsibilities. Data is held subject to our Data Handling Policy. The Board’s responsible officer for data is Sarah Roebuck and any queries regarding this Privacy Statement should be directed to admin@deveron.org
Please find Privacy Statement here – RDevDSFB Privacy Statement
