The next River Ayr District Salmon Fishery Board meeting will take place on the 25th February at 7.00pm in CKD Galbraith’s offices at 7 Killoch Place, Ayr, KA7 2EA
This meeting is open to the public however they will not be able to contribute to the meeting.
Given that the rates have increased significantly and the meeting being open to the public, I think an other venue may be needed to accommodate those wis to attendhing
Ronnie,
you may have a point here and it was noted after the last meeting that there wasn’t much room. I shall contact the Clerk on Monday and see what he says. It isn’t our decision, we just inform the public of the meetings on behalf of the DSFB.
Stuart,
I recently attended the River Ayr DSFB meeting this week and was really pleased with both the progress the bailiff co-ordiantor is making and the contribution of ART to protect salmon stocks on the River.
However, one thing did catch my eye that having reflected on this is quite concerning. I noticed on the budget information for the year ahead that Clerk Fees represented >10% of the budget for 2014? The role of the clerk/ secretary is to deal with Board correspondence and take minutes of the meetings which I imagine is undertaken by a volunteer, on similar Fishery Boards around the country (maybe you can confrim this from your experience with other boards?). In line with the new rules and regulations the board must follow in relation to decalring personal financial interests, I hope this point is raised at the next meeting with a breakdown of the figure and discussion around the need for this to be a paid role.
Thanks for your comments.
I too was very pleased to hear that the bailiff force has had good success with several prosecutions secured for the first time in many years and all credit for this must go to the bailiff co ordinator, the team of volunteer bailiffs and the Board for supporting them. It is a difficult task and one that has been delivered in exemplary manner by the bailiffs. I am encouraged by their enthusiasm for other non bailiffing issues such as assisting with tree planting to help restore areas within the catchment. This is beyond the call of duty.
ART are distinct from the bailiffs, offering advice and support where necessary but we do not become involved in policing any rivers within Ayrshire.
Regarding the role of the Clerk to the District Salmon Fishery Board: Each Board has their own arrangements and requirements of the Clerk but it is normally a paid role. Under the new legislation (The Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013, the Clerk is required report to Scottish Ministers with audited accounts and a final report of the boards activities in addition to other reporting requirements. Included within the report is a range of information required in accordance with Part 2, section 20, subsections 2 and 3. Additionally the Clerk takes minutes of the meetings and handles all correspondence and matters arising of concern to the board and settles accounts on behalf of the Board. The Clerks fees are agreed by the Board and really should not be disputed unless a grievance arises. I expect the fees are determined by the anticipated workload (based on the hours required to complete the required tasks and to prepare for and attend meetings).
On the matter of Board members declaring their financial interests, this subject was raised at the previous meeting and members did in fact declare any interests and this remains on record. I don’t expect the question needs to be raised at each meeting as Board members agreed that should circumstances change, they would update the Board’s records at the next meeting of the Board. I assume there will be a list contained within the Annual Report issued to Scottish Mininsters and published at the end of the financial year.
To comply with the new legislation, the Board agreed at the last meeting to have a web site built to allow members of the public to keep up to date with Board activities. On the web site, minutes of all meetings will be published (and sent to the Government) and notices of forthcoming meetings made available. It will also include updates from the board of any activities that they see fit to publish and both ART and the Bailiff co ordinator will contribute regularly. Hopefully this will be a great portal for all anglers and anyone interested in the River Ayr. ART has already instructed a web designer to commence building the site as instructed at last weeks Board meeting. The web address will be made available as soon as the site goes live.
I hope this answers your questions adequately but don’t hesitate to contact me should you need more information. In light of the numbers of the Public attending the last two meetings, the next meeting will be held in April (date to be confirmed) at ART’s offices in Auchincruive where there should be more room and adequate seating for visitors.