SALMON netters have lost their claim against the Scottish Government over compensation to be paid by Holyrood for the extended ban on catching salmon in coastal waters.

The 114-year-old Salmon Net Fishing Association of Scotland brought the case in the Court of Session against the Government over the compensation scheme introduced by the Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019, which updated a similar scheme brought in by the Government in 2016.

A European Commission order led to the original prohibition on netters catching salmon amid concerns about dwindling stocks.

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The original three-year ban has been extended and lawyers for the association argued that the 2019 compensation scheme which was brought in last April is “outwith the ministers’ legislative competence, ultra vires, and of no effect”.

In his written judgement issued at the weekend, Lord Pentland noted the netters case “that the 2019 compensation scheme does not strike a fair balance between the property rights of the Association’s members and the general interests of the wider community because it is arbitrary in its nature and in its effects”.

Giving judgement in favour of the Scottish Government, Lord Pentland noted expert evidence which found that “fewer salmon were returning to Scottish waters than in the recent past; those returning were smaller, in poorer condition, and of lower reproductive capacity”. He added: “It was estimated that the downward trend of returning salmon was continuing such that Scotland’s overall salmon population was considered to be less than half of what it had been in the early 1970s.”

Dismissing the action, Lord Pentland concluded: “The ministers have offered a rationally based compensation scheme that is, I consider, well within their margin of appreciation. I am satisfied that it strikes a fair balance. It is not manifestly arbitrary or unreasonable.”