A Chronology of Salmon in the River Clyde
Click on Blue Dates for further info.
1165 -
1452 Monks of
Paisley are granted various extensive charters to net and to
construct traps (yairs) for 1452AD salmon in Loch Lomond, Rivers Leven and
Clyde and the Gare Loch.
1424 Representatives of
the Burghs of Renfrew and Dumbarton meet at OldKirkpatrick
to discuss their conflicting rights to certain salmon fishing.
Early 1700s
Start of
rapid rise in human population.
Mid 1700s Salmon still
abundant in the main river and in tributaries, such as the River Kelvin.
1771 Dredging of
navigable channel down stream of Glasgow is started.
Late 1700s
Escalation
in the rate of industrialisation, including construction of a number
of weirs hindering the passage of adult salmon, notably including BlantyreWeir
on the
River Clyde (1785) and Partick Weir on the River Kelvin.
1798 Common sewers
directly discharging into the Clyde introduced in Glasgow.
1808
Town of
Dumbarton’s salmon fishings are reported to be rapidly decliningin value.
Town Council attributes this to “porpoises, vulgarly called buckers,that pursue
and
destroy the salmon”!
c1850
Height of
Blantyre Weir increased.
1859-60 Loch Lomond
Angling Improvement Association comes into existence.
1869 Salmon numbers
above Glasgow are now at a low level and poaching is still a
problem. One poacher takes 14 salmon by cleek on the River Nethan.
1870 Frank Buckland
inspects the River Clyde and reports on difficulties of fish passage
at Blantyre Weir.
1876 Parliamentary
Report into the best means of dealing with pollutions of Clydeand tributaries.
1900 Occasional salmon
are still being sighted at Blantyre Weir.
c1905-65 No salmon are
reported in the River Clyde up stream of Glasgow, or in theRiver Cart,
but c1930 occasional salmon are reported stranded in dry dock at the mouth of
the River Kelvin.
Throughout this period salmon continue to run the River Leven.
Mid 1960s
Occasional
salmon are noted in the River Cart and its tributary, the River Gryfe.
1970s Water quality
steadily improves mainly as a result of better sewage treatment. Salmon
numbers build up in the River Gryfe.
1980-81 A total of
6,000 salmon fry of Dee/Spey origin are introduced into the King’sBurn
at Rutherglen.
1983 on Adult salmon
are seen each autumn attempting to negotiate Blantyre Weir.
1984 Formation of the
River Clyde Fisheries Management Trust to supervise and coordinate
the future development of the River Clyde salmon fishing rights.
1988 A Clyde tributary,
the River Avon, is stocked with 8,000 salmon parr.
1989-90 Freshwater
Fisheries Laboratory (now FRS Freshwater Laboratory), in collaboration
with the Clyde River Purification Board ( now ScottishEnvironment Protection
Agency),
electrofishes favourable areas in the main stem and tributaries upstream of
Blantyre Weir
and finds some juvenile salmon, confirming that some successful spawning has
taken place. There
are also reports of salmon being seen in the Kelvin and Black Cart catchments.
1992 Freshwater
Fisheries Laboratory (now FRS Freshwater Laboratory) visits theBlack Cart and
Kelvin catchments and confirms that successful spawning is taking place.
1993 Active
negotiations are proceeding to improve salmon access at various points in the
catchment,
including at Blantyre Weir.
1994 Construction of a
fish pass at Blantyre Weir, in conjunction with a private hydro-electric scheme.
1995 Detailed survey of
the River Kelvin carried out by the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory
(now FRS Freshwater Laboratory). This work was commisioned by the Kelvin Valley
Countryside project.
Reports of many salmon ascending Blantrye Weir on the main-stem of the River Clyde via the new
fish pass.
1999 Clyde River
Foundation established as a charitable trust to collect information on fish
stocks,
conserve and enhance fish populations, and run education projects. Construction
of a fish pass on the
Allander Water (a tributary of the River Kelvin) at Gavins Mill Weir.
2000
Salmon now well
established in the River Nethan.
2002
Clyde River
Foundation appoints a full-time fisheries scientist.