Good Governance
Role of DSFB's
Salmon fishing rights in Scotland are private heritable titles that are registered separately from land. As such these titles can be bought and sold like any other property. In Scotland, the cost of the local administration, protection and improvement of the fisheries is privately financed by the proprietors.
The district boards finance their work by levying a rate on the salmon fishery owners in the district. Elected representatives of those owners provide the core of the membership of the Board. However, since 1986, the boards are required also to include representatives of salmon anglers and salmon netsmen in the district.
A further revision to the constitution of the Boards was made in 1999 to allow for even wider representation on the boards by other parties who may have an interest or stake in salmon stocks or fisheries.
Powers and Duties
The power and duties of a DSFB 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 & 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 Salmon Fisheries Legislation
-
Exempt Persons From Certain Provisions of the Law for Scientific Purposes
-
To Sue in the Name of the Clerk
-
Duties :
-
To Appoint a Clerk
-
To Maintain a List of Fishery Proprietors from within the Fishery District
-
To Produce an Annual Report and Audited Accounts and to Consider these at an AGM.
-
To Include in the Annual Report Proposed Actions for the Coming year and Information About Complaints Made to the Voard.
-
To Publish the Annual Report and Audited Accounts, and Copy these to Scottish Ministers
-
To Call a Triennial Electoral Meeting of Board Members
-
To Call an Annual Public Meeting, Publish the Minutes and Copy these to Scottish Ministers
-
To Hold all Board Meetings in Public (a portion of meetings may be held in private, but the Board must state a reason for this) and Publish the Minutes of all Meetings
-
To Maintain Arrangements for Dealing with Complaints About the Way in Which the Board Have Carried out Their Legislative Functions
-
To Maintain a Declaration of Relevant Financial Interests of Board Members