River Dee Anglers’ Chance to Land Big Honour
February 01, 2021
Salmon anglers and complete beginners are being invited to compete for one of the biggest honours in the sport in a round-the-clock fishing challenge.
The Upper Dee Riparian Woodland Project has been shortlisted in the Enhancing Our Environment category at Scottish Land & Estates' 2019 Helping It Happen Awards.
Winners will be announced at the Helping It Happen Awards Ceremony and Dinner, hosted by Landward’s Anne Lundon, on 2nd October 2019 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, Edinburgh.
Since 2013 The Dee District Salmon Fishery Board (DDSFB) and River Dee Trust (RDT) have planted over 140,000 native trees along the river banks of the upper Dee and its tributaries, including the Geldie, Ey, Gairn, Clunie, Baddoch, Callater, Slugain, Gelder and Muick.
This vital restoration work is delivered by working closely with land owners and managers, ensuring that areas of riparian woodland do not compromise the primary land management for grouse and deer. The project works with the Estates of Mar Lodge, Mar, Invercauld and Balmoral.
The DDSFB/RDT have built up strong relationships with land managers in the upper Dee catchment, as the salmon fishery on Deeside has an important cultural and economic role to play, similar to that of grouse shooting and deer stalking. Working closely with keepers, shepherds and land managers we have designed all riparian tree planting to maximise benefits for salmon without negatively impacting the movement of deer or disrupting traditional grouse drives.
Marine Scotland predictions of climate change indicate that many upland tributaries will reach summer water temperatures that make streams uninhabitable for salmon; last year for example the Gairn reached a water temperature of 27.50C (81.50F), close to the lethal temperature for juvenile salmon. In a changing climate, a diverse ecosystem with a wide range of features, habitat types and species, is more likely to adapt to changes and ensure that the uplands can continue to be both ecologically and economically productive.
Riparian trees will lower the summer water temperatures in these important salmon nursery streams, both through direct shading of the watercourse and by cooling the ground water as it flows through the riparian zone. Riparian woodland also benefits salmon through: provision of insects for their diet; increased nutrients through leaf drop; and large trees and branches that fall into the stream will create spawning gravel and cool deep resting pools, protecting fish from predators. Trees also reduce the speed of water runoff from the surrounding land to reduce peak flood levels, and an increase in general biodiversity includes a wider variety of species such as black grouse, capercaillie and woodcock.
In June 2019 the DDSFB won funding from SNH’s Biodiversity Challenge Fund (BCF). Working with local estates the “10,000 tree” project will now continue this restoration. As the trees will take decades to mature and fall into the river, the project will also see the installation of large woody structures in the rivers Gairn and Muick to provide essential pools and spawning gravel.
To achieve a significant reduction in summer temperatures and improve upland stream habitat, this work needs to be carried out on a catchment scale. With the continued support of the estates on upper Deeside we will continue to create riparian woodland and continue to involve volunteers from the local communities. In the decades to come and with increasing climate variability the fences protecting the trees will come down and land animals will also benefit from the shade and shelter.
Salmon anglers and complete beginners are being invited to compete for one of the biggest honours in the sport in a round-the-clock fishing challenge.
The results of the 2020 Redd count are in with some grounds for optimism
The current restrictions mean that there are some great opportunities for local anglers
Our friend Robson has lent his support to promoting our River Dee buffs
As things currently stand, the Dee fishing season will commence as usual on 1st February.
We hope you enjoy the latest annual review for the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board and River Dee Trust.
With no opening ceremony this year, we thought we would share a few pics f past events
Why not make a special gesture to the one you love this Valentine’s day with a bouquet of trees from the River Dee Trust?
The Trust has been working with schools and parents to ensure our youngsters can enjoy learning about the River Dee from home
Get your hands on this Winter's Ultimate Accessory!!
A third of the LWS between Loch Muick and the Spittal bridge had gravel and redds associated with them
Within weeks of the Easter Beltie restoration works finishing at least 15 redd sites have appeared!
Just days after completing restoration works on the Garbh Allt, salmon and redds have been spotted!
The River Dee Trust has joined the national network of river conservation charities in calling on the Scottish Government to turn words into action to avert an ecological disaster.
August and September herald the highest levels of mink activity within the catchment. Our volunteer network has been hard at work but we could do with some support.
The Results of the 2019 River Dee Smolt Tagging & Tracking study have been published
The River Dee Trust has announced plans to plant a million native trees in one of the biggest nature restoration projects in the Cairngorms. The project will recreate areas of landscape that have been lost for 2000 years.
Award Winning Journalist Set to Lead the Trust
Work is progressing on projects funded by the Biodiversity Challenge Fund (BCF), running from July 2019 – September 2020
The Dee Dsfb has produced a short facsheet detailing its position on enhancement stocking
The River Dee Trust has published the results of the 2019 UDRS Electrofishing
The River Dee Trust has published the findings of its scale reading study
The new Annual Review highlighting the work of the Board and Trust is available to read.
A project to conserve one of Scotland’s most famous salmon rivers has been recognised in a national awards scheme for environmental excellence.
One of the Dee’s most exciting projects got underway in 2014 when a fish pass was installed on the Culter Burn in the autumn of that year.
Since 2016 the River Dee Trust has been engaged in a major piece of work to find out more about smolt production on the lower Dee.
The River Dee Trust is holding a dinner to celebrate the Living River on Friday 31st January 2020. The dinner will be held at Banchory Lodge and follows on from a successful inaugural event held at the Lodge earlier this year.
The Culter catchment is an ideal breeding ground for salmon
As expected, the first pink salmon has been caught on the Dee
This short film showcases our new project in the Upper Dee Catchment
Join River Operations Manager Edwin Third, as he introduces a new project to boost juvenile salmon salmon on the Dee.
Join the River Dee team as we continue our work to protect our most precious resource, Atlantic salmon smolts
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