Fleet (Kirkcudbright) Fisheries Management Plan

The Water of Fleet is a small river in Dumfries and Galloway which rises on the slopes of Cairnsmore of Fleet and flows into the Solway at Fleet Bay. The Fleet was once considered one of the finest Sea trout fisheries in the region but catches have declined in recent years.

 The Fleet District Salmon Fishery Board  has statutory powers and duties to protect and improve Atlantic salmon and Sea trout fisheries within the Fleet catchment. It produces an annual report and audited accounts which are presented at their AGM. The Fleet DSFB has a close relationship with its local fisheries trust, the  Galloway Fisheries Trust  (GFT). Through the trust, the board can work towards gathering the information required to manage the Fleet fishery and carry out habitat improvement and restoration works. As a result of its modest rateable value the Fleet DSFB has very limited powers in regards to financing research and conservation within their district. However, GFT work on their behalf to access available external funding to help carry out additional work.

DSFB's have legal powers for the purpose of protecting the fisheries within their district, with many DSFB's employing full or part time bailiffs. Due to the relatively low financial value of the Fleet fishery it can not employ a full or part time bailiff. The main policing of the river comes in the form of anglers reporting any issues they see directly to the police.

Like most rivers, some of the factors impacting fish populations on the Water of Fleet extend well beyond the watercourses and onto the greater catchments the river drains. As such, the Fleet DSFB/GFT work with a number of public and private bodies to achieve changes that will benefit the Fleet's native fish populations. These include government organisations, NGO's and private land owners. Many of the issues impacting fish populations in the Fleet are a direct result of human land use with no simple solutions. Whilst individual restoration and management projects have done much to improve conditions within the river, consultation in land management plans and multi-partner/sector projects, with benefits which expand beyond just fish populations, are amongst the most useful options for achieving large scale change.

Organisations involved in the management of the Water of Fleet include:

 SEPA  are responsible for monitoring and regulating of our air, land and water. They advise the government, public and industry on environmental best practice. As the national regulator for the Scottish environment SEPA has its own responsibilities towards protecting and restoring rivers and lochs. It currently works towards The  Solway Tweed River Basin Management Plan  which includes the Water of Fleet. As part of the plan, it grades the condition of waterbodies within rivers and aims to improve conditions within those that are considered to be in poor ecological condition. SEPA aims to improve the ecological condition in 172 Solway rivers, burns and lochs. It works with a number of partners to achieve its outcomes.

 Forestry and Land Scotland  (FLS) is a government agency, they own the majority of the commercial forestry which covers much of the upper Fleet catchments. The latest FLS  Fleet Basin Land Management Plan  consultation has recently been released.

 NatureScot  manage the  Cairnsmore of Fleet National Nature Reserve  in the headwaters of the Big Water of Fleet. It is one of the few sections of the upper catchments not to have been planted with commercial forestry. There are extensive peatlands within the reserve that were historically drained for sheep grazing. Large scale peatland restoration has taken place and as a result, the burns flowing through the reserve have some of the best water quality in the upper Fleet catchments.

The Water of Fleet is home to a number of mostly native fish species. They include:

Whilst salmon rod catches are used as an indication of adult salmon abundance by the Marine Directorate to categorise rivers in regards to adult Atlantic salmon exploitation (as described earlier), various life stages of salmon and trout (primarily) are also monitored by GFT and some of the government agencies.

There is little on-going development of the Fleet fishery. Fishing is essentially split into two main rod fisheries (one syndicated and one privately owned) who target Sea trout as much as, if not more than, salmon.

GFT carries out educational work on behalf of DSFB's, with many projects covering multiple DSFB areas across west and central Galloway. The number of educational projects that can be undertaken at any given time is directly related to the available funding. As such there can, at times, be busy spells followed by prolonged periods where no educational work is ongoing. Whilst there are no current education projects ongoing some examples of previous educational work carried out by GFT, that covered work within the Fleet DSFB area, include the Salmon in the Classroom and  Save the Sparling .