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Historically The Crown had a presumptive right to all salmon fishing rights in Scotland as part of the regalia minor however over time many of these rights have been granted away by The Sovereign both in coastal areas and on many stretches of river. As coastal salmon netting was a commercial activity investigations were carried out in the early to mid 19th Century by the predecessors to The Crown Estate to clarify which remained in Crown ownership. This process was not commenced for salmon fishing rights in rivers until the latter part of the 19th century as angling became a popular pursuit. These investigations involved correspondence with proprietors of estates either adjoining or including a salmon river with the results being noted on the pages of many volumes of county series plans linking to paper files (CR10) incorporating the relevant correspondence. Where it was established that the rights remained with the Crown there was then a programme of letting the migratory fishing rights to ensure that anglers had the relevant legal permission in place to fish for salmon.
The Crown Estate now manages the rights to salmon fishings on many rivers in Scotland, leasing them to both associations and private individuals. With the exception of those purchased with the Fochabers, Glenlivet and Applegirth estates. Salmon fishings are a property right for which the title can be transferred separately from land, this means the right is not necessarily bound to the land where the fishings are located, and so even when the shore or riverbank is privately owned, fishings may still be vested in the Crown. The right includes both salmon and sea trout, known collectively as migratory fish. The salmon fishing interests also include coastal netting rights, and are widely distributed throughout Scotland from the Borders to Caithness, although none of these is now operated commercially. |