NO7057During the Middle Ages, Montrose was the second largest port, after, Aberdeen, for exporting salmon. This trade was sustained by the abundance of wild salmon that were caught in the waters near Montrose.
Both the Old Statistical Account of the Parish of Craig by Rev James Mitchell, M.A., D.D., and the New Statistical Account by Rev James Brewster, D. D., suggest that one etymology of the name Inchbrayock is derived from Gaelic origins and signifies “island of the trout’s.” A more recent interpretation is that the name Inchbrayock is derived from Gaelic and means “the island of St Brioc.” In bygone times, the name “Trout Shot” appears to have applied to a wider area of Montrose Basin than the more specific location shown on modern, Ordnance Survey maps. In Scotland’s Places Vol 16, Rev Mitchell notes that the Trout Shot “applies to the principal place for the netting of salmon.”
The island of Inchbrayock, which lies close to the Trout Shot, is now called Rossie Island. In fact, with the infilling of the Inch Burn to provide land for the offshore oil and gas servicing industry in the early 1970’s, Rossie Island has no longer strictly been an island since 1972 but rather a peninsula.
While nets have been used for centuries to capture wild salmon as they migrate between the sea and Sottish rivers, including the South Esk, the Scottish Government imposed a ban in 2016 which was originally intended to end in the spring of 2019. However, the ban has been extended indefinitely and this has meant that salmon stations, such as the one at Fishtown of Usan, can no longer catch wild salmon but have been obliged to diversify their catch by switching to other species such as lobster and crab. Due to the decline in Atlantic salmon stocks, salmon netting is unlikely to resume in the foreseeable future at the Trout Shot or indeed elsewhere in Scotland.
The Trout Shot has changed from being a place that once represented a vibrant, commercial, salmon and sea trout netting industry to a place where no salmon are netted and as such it is symbolic of the demise of Atlantic salmon netting in Montrose Basin and to an extent throughout Scotland.
While people, including some former salmon netters, salmon exporters and gourmet diners may lament legal changes which now prevent the netting of wild salmon, 2019 is the International Year of the Salmon. The International Year of the Salmon is an initiative led by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) and the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) which aims to raise awareness and understanding of the social and economic benefits that salmon provide, and to highlight the many contemporary issues facing salmon around the world.
As a suggested discussion point, your views about the current ban on the commercial netting of Scottish salmon in
NO7057 and elsewhere are welcomed.
Andrew Diack, B.A. (Hons)
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NO7057 : Heron taking flight from the waters of the Trout ShotNO7057 : Light reflection on the waters of the Trout Shot, Montrose BasinNO7057 : Trout Shot viewed from the shore of Rossie IslandNO7057 : Trout Shot, in Montrose Basin