Welcome to the
Esk District Salmon Fishery Board
Introduction
The Esk District Salmon Fishery Board and Esk Rivers & Fisheries Trust work together to protect and improve the wild salmon and sea trout populations.
The Esk District Salmon Fishery Board is a statutory organisation tasked with protecting and improving the salmon and sea trout fisheries of the River South Esk, River North Esk, River Bervie and River Lunan. The operations of the DSFB are financed by the owners of the salmon fishing rights in the district, you pay an annual levy based on the value of their fishing rights.
The Esk Rivers and Fisheries Trust is a charitable organisation that raises funds to undertake habitat improvement works within the district.
The Esk DSFB and Esk R&FT work closely together in the best interests of the fish.
River North Esk
The River North Esk is one of Scotland’s most productive salmon rivers. Formed from two major tributaries, the Lee and the Mark, where it flows down through Glen Esk. The river travels down to the Loups, a canyon section where the river narrows to only a few metres.
River South Esk
Famed for its sea trout, the River South Esk rises in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains in Angus, flowing down through Glen Clova and on into Cortachy. The river meanders through Inshewan and Craigeassie before passing under the A90 at Finavon, down to Brechin and through Kinnaird before discharging into the Montrose Basin
River Bervie
The River Bervie rises in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains in Drumtochty Forest, before flowing down through the Mearns. The bervie then passes the town of Glenbervie and under the A90, before meeting the sea at Inverbervie, which is situated between Stonehaven and Montrose.
Did you know?
Female fish lay their eggs in gravel depressions known as ‘redds’. As a female releases her eggs, an adult male (or mature juvenile) immediately fertilises them. The female then covers the fertilised eggs with gravel.
How long it takes for eggs to hatch (the incubation time) depends on water temperature. Eggs will usually hatch in early spring. The young fish, which still have a yolk sac attached, are called ‘alevins’.
Esks District Salmon Fishery Board
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.
Esks Fisheries Trust
The work of the trust is to promote best practice and improve the health of aquatic ecosystems. In recent years, the trust has focused on habitat improvement projects, and is an active member of the River South Esk Catchment Partnership (theriversouthesk.org).
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