For the second time this year, Paxton House and Grounds have been the victim of mindless vandalism.  Last week, the fishing nets left to dry down on the riverbank were damaged so that in the following days the team of scientists, responsible for an important ongoing scientific study of salmon and seatrout stocks in the river Tweed, are unable to complete their planned research.

A threat to science

One of the pleasures of our summer is being able to share with our visitors the work of the River Tweed Commission at the Paxton Fishery which allows an opportunity to keep a regular check on the health and stock of two fish species which are under serious decline in the British Isles. The information gathered each summer provides invaluable data.  The fish are not harmed, they are checked, measured, tagged and returned to the river to continue to the headwaters to spawn. The river Tweed has one of the healthiest stocks of salmon in Britain which makes the information gleaned vital to the health of freshwater fish stocks throughout the nation.

Re-enacting History

In addition, the techniques used by the team of scientists, who row a traditional wooden coble across the river and manoeuvre the nets through the water by hand, are those that were practised for centuries. It is a beautiful sight and we encourage everyone to come along to Paxton to watch from the bank as one of our regular summer activities.

Why?

We cannot imagine what motivates these vandals.  Boredom? Misinformed animal activism? Frustration? But since it has happened twice this summer, we are concerned that it offers a serious threat to the continuation of the River Tweed Commission’s research. The Paxton Trust is proud to be able to host this study, not just for the importance for our increased knowledge of the wildlife of our river but also for the historic relevance of re-enacting a lost fishing activity which was once a major economic activity for the communities along the Tweed and for Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Read more about the Paxton Fishery