Who we are

Dee District Salmon Fishery Board

The Dee District Salmon Fishery Board (DDSFB) is the statutory body tasked with protecting and enhancing stocks of salmon and sea trout across the district. The district encompasses not only the River Dee but also the neighbouring rivers of the Carron and Cowie.

This Board has been recognised as being at the forefront of fisheries management in Scotland with an established track record in innovative conservation and enhancement policies.

If you have any complaints about DDSFB, please refer to the DDSFB Complaints Procedure

The Dee Conservation Code here for 2024 sets out the regulations for fishing the Dee.

Dee Conservation Code

Under the terms of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013, District Salmon Fishery Boards are required to produce an annual report and full set of accounts for consideration by the Qualified Proprietors of the District.

Board Members

Lawrence Ross

Chair – Upper Proprietor

Lawrence is a Chartered Accountant who spent his career in private equity in Aberdeen (firstly with 3i and latterly with Lime Rock Partners) investing primarily in the energy industry.

Declared Interests:

Owner Lower Blackhall & Kinneskie and Invery.

Director of The Dee Salmon Fisheries Company Ltd.

Paul Adderton

Board Member – Upper Proprietor

Paul is a passionate game angler who lives adjacent to the river Dee. He has a wealth of angling experience having fished several rivers in Scotland. A former TV Producer, having produced several TV programmes raising peoples’ awareness to the unique natural heritage of our rivers and in particular an educational programme on the river Dee commissioned for ITV network.

Declared Interests:

President of the Aberdeen and District Angling Association.

Member of the Don District Salmon Fishery Board.

Member of the Ythan Salmon Fishery Board.

Member of the River Don Trust.

Member of the River Dee Salmon Fishing Improvement Association.

Member of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Victor Beamish

Board Member – Upper Proprietor

Victor is a keen salmon fisherman and is a proprietor on the River Dee at Knappach. He has many years of experience within the finance industry.

Declared Interests:

Trustee of the River Dee Trust

Member of the Western Isles Fishery Board

Member of Grimersta Estate, Isle of Lewis

Owner of Knappach Estate which has a beat on the River Dee

Trustee of Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland

Jeremy Clayton

Board Member – Upper Mandatory

Jeremy is a passionate angler.

Chairman of three family companies retailers, flower growers, nurseries, property management and development, hospitality and forestry.

Non executive director in two property companies land promotion and construction.

Retired member valuation tribunal England.

Life vice president east of England agricultural society.

Declared Interests:

Proprietor Lower Dess Estate

Edward Humphrey

Board Member – Upper Proprietor

Edward is a keen angler. He is a very active person with the river board team and has provided invaluable support and encouragement where he can which is widely acknowledged and appreciated.

Declared Interests:

Owner of Dinnet Fishings.

Agent for Aboyne Castle and Craigendinnie fishings.

Chairman of Dee Salmon Fishing Improvement Association

Director of FishDee Ltd

Director of The Dee Salmon Fisheries Company Ltd.

Scott Rutherford

Board Member – Lower Mandatory

Scott holds a life long interest in fishing and enjoys the outdoors. A member of Stonehaven and District Angling Association, he has been an active member of the committee since 2013.

Declared interests;

President of Stonehaven & District Angling Association

Tara Spiers

Board Member – Upper Proprietor

Tara is an avid angler and has been helping to organise ladies angling events for several years. She is also the founder of the River Dee Damsels – a group set up to encourage women of all ages to fly fish

Declared interest;

Trustee of the River Dee Trust

Joint proprietor of Tilquhillie fishings joint proprieter on Kemnay beat 3, River Don.

Sir Andrew Walker-Okeover

Board Member – Upper Proprietor

Andrew is the proprietor of Glenmuick Estate and a committed lifelong angler. His work life is based around land management and he has a keen interest in habitat restoration.

Declared Interests:

Owner of Glenmuick Estate and Fishings.

Member of Ballater Angling Association.

Mike Wilson

Board Member – Upper Proprietor

Inventor and Entrepreneur

Former owner of Ecosse Subsea Systems Limited

Current owner of Ecosse IP Limited

Owner of Banchory Fishings and keen fisherman

Declared Interests:

Owner of Banchory Fishings

Keith Young

Board Member – Lower Proprietor

Keith is a senior executive with Aberdeen Harbour Board.

Declared Interests: none

Martin Gardner

Board Member – Co-opted Angling Representative

Martin is a very keen fisherman. He has fished numerous rivers both in the UK and overseas. As the angling representative Martin wishes to provide both a listening and active voice for anglers.

Declared interests:

Committee Member of Stonehaven & District Angling Association.

Member of the Aberdeen and District Angling Association.

Carol Mair

Clerk To The Board

Carol joined the River Dee team in 2012 and has come from a background of many years of administrative work, including with other District Salmon Fishery Boards.

Andy Ford

Cairngorms National Park Authority Representative

Andy Ford is the Director of Nature and Climate Change at the Cairngorms National Park Authority. Since graduating with a degree in ecology from Sunderland University, Andy has over 30 years’ experience working as a countryside ranger, reserve warden and team leader in Scotland, England and West Africa. Andy’s area of expertise is in protected areas, working in partnerships to balance socio, economic and environmental drivers of land-use. Andy has worked for CNPA since 2005 in visitor services, conservation and land management teams, becoming Director in 2021.

Isla Martin

NatureScot Representative

Isla is an Operations Officer at Nature Scot

Ali McEwan

Ghillies Representative

Ali is the Ghillie at the Lower Dess Estate on the river Dee

Craig Stewart

Aberdeenshire Council Representative

Craig is a Team Leader in the Environment and Infrastructure Services department with Aberdeenshire Council.

River Dee Trust

The River Dee Trust is a community-based charitable company, registered in Scotland, No. SC028497. It was set up in 1998 and is tasked with the following aims and objectives:

To improve our knowledge of the ecology and associated fish stocks of the River Dee so that practical improvements and restoration of the River and the wildlife it supports can be achieved. We work in co-operation with those that have the improvement of the River at heart.
To deliver educational information to schools, organisations and individuals living in the North East of Scotland.

Our work is guided by the principle of how we can better understand and improve the River so that we may look after it for this and future generations. To achieve these aims the River Dee Trust must raise sufficient funds so that these works can be achieved to the highest standard. With your support we will be able to meet our aims and continue looking after the Dee and the surrounding area, for many years to come.

Support

Trust Directors

Sandy Bremner

Chair

Sandy is a life-long angler with a keen interest in freshwater and marine policy. He is Convener of the Cairngorms National Park Authority and has advised conservation organisations including Fisheries Management Scotland. Sandy is an award-winning journalist, served as the BBC’s Managing Editor for the North East and Northern Isles, and has worked for media freedom in some of the world’s trouble spots.

Victor Beamish

Victor is a keen salmon fisherman and is a proprietor on the River Dee at Knappach. He has many years of experience within the finance industry.

Mike Cuthbert

Mike lives on the River Dee at Dinnet and has been a committed conservationist for many years. Following a career in Finance, he is keen to help restore our salmon stocks and habitat to the river’s catchment. He has been an avid fly fisherman for as long as he can remember and is fortunate enough to have fished many rivers in Scotland plus hosting trips to Iceland. He enjoys introducing people to the sport and the benefits of time spent on the river.

Lucy Campbell

Lucy was brought up to learn an inherent love of the outdoors and country pursuits. Now, living at Altries, and over looking the Altries and Lower Drum beats, (of which she is joint proprietor with her husband) she continues with her keen interest in the countryside and all things involving nature and conservation.

Guy Finlayson

Guy is a local business owner at The Strong Water Co. on Banchory High Street and is a keen fisherman. He has a background in events management, starting the Banchory Beer Festival. Guy brings a wealth of enthusiasm and gusto in the curation of new fundraising events and helping to spread the educational cause of the river. With Guy’s business seeing the benefits of anglers and their parties’ tourism to the Dee Valley, he understands the great importance of the industry to the local area.

Randall Nicol

Randall is a joint owner and proprietor of Ballogie Estate incorporating Ballogie, Carlogie and Commonty beats on the Dee. He is a retired solicitor based in Edinburgh. He is interested in fishing and the conservation of the Dee and the surrounding area.

Mel Shand

Mel Shand is an artist first and foremost, and a photographer and documenter of life around her as part of that artistic process. Her love and enthusiasm for people who live within her surrounding communities inspired her to document their lives in a project called A Portrait of Our Time. This led to the Portrait of the River Dee featuring the people whose life and work revolve around the river, including every fishing ghillie employed in 2013 to commemorate the DDSFB’s 150th anniversary. In 2015 she led the creative and educational project River of Fish to a successful conclusion.

Tara Spiers

With a background in media and marketing Tara is one of the proprietors of Tilquhillie fishings on the River Dee. She is an avid angler and has been helping to organise ladies angling events for several years. She is also the founder of The River Dee Damsels – a group set up to encourage women of all ages to take up fly fishing.