Last Updated 27/02/2025. 15:37 pm
About the River Girvan District Salmon Fishery Board
The Water of Girvan is commonly known as the River Girvan. The source of the river is Loch Girvan Eye in the Galloway hills from where it flows north and then south west for some 38 miles (61km) to the sea. The catchment is approximately 96.5 square miles (250 square km).
The River Girvan District Salmon Fishery Board is empowered by the Scottish Ministers to manage salmon and sea trout stocks and the fishery itself. Management is delivered in conjunction with the riparian owners representatives elected to the Board.
Our aims are to protect and enhance the fishery in accordance with the requirements laid out in The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003. We take advice on fishery management from our local scientific experts at Ayrshire Rivers Trust and Fishery Management Scotland.
All correspondence for the Board should be directed to the Clerk at the address provided below.
This new website was first published in September 2025 and will continue to evolve as information is uploaded.
Protecting Our River and Fish
The River Girvan District Salmon Fishery Board is committed to protecting our fish stocks and this is particularly important now that Atlantic Salmon have recently been classified on the IUCN Red List of Species as an endangered species in the UK. Sea Trout are included within the Board's remit and treated in the same way as salmon under current legislation.
However, while stocks have declined and Scottish salmon are in crisis, Ayrshire Rivers Trust confirm that the River Girvan continues to produce respectable juvenile numbers, indicating that our river has lots of potential and remains a viable fishery.
To protect both our fish and habitat, the Board expect early consultation from any developers working in or near water within the river catchment. All enquires should be directed to the clerk.
The Board has an experienced team of water bailiffs that are active year round and will enforce the laws around freshwater angling and habitat protection.
Improvements on the River
The River Girvan District Salmon Fishery Board has contributed to projects on the river that benefits the fish and the fishery and continues to do so; examples include constructing fish passes in the Girvan Dykes to improve migration and habitat improvements in the middle river.
Ayrshire Rivers Trust actively seeks and secures funding to deliver our Fishery Management Plan priorities. Recently they have undertaken extensive fencing and tree planting to reduce erosion and improve river bank stability. The aim is to provide cool, clean waters and silt free gravels; the essential ingredients for healthy salmon and trout populations.
The Trust biologists continue to monitor our salmon and trout populations each year on our behalf. Not only do they assess the main river's performance but also tributaries throughout the catchment and this work enables them to identify future priorities for improvements.
The levies that the Board collects each year are spent on this work and we are mindful to balance meeting our statutory obligations to protect and enhance the river while not overburdening anglers and owners with excessively high levies. In that respect, the levies collected by the Board are considered to be in line with other rivers of similar size in the west of Scotland.
Sustainable Fisheries
The Board works closely with Ayrshire Rivers Trust to ensure that the river is managed in a sustainable manner. Along with the Marine Directive who comissioned a Fishery Management Plan for the river (available online), we as river managers seek to ensure that salmon and sea trout will prevail on the Water of Girvan for future generations to enjoy.
The proposed conservation grading for 2026 is that the river is classed as 'Poor' and mandatory catch and release will be required. This is based on several factors one of which is catch returns. It is therefore essential that all salmon captured are recorded in catch returns submitted to the Board even when they have to be released.
Scotland wide, 98% of all rod caught salmon are released and most anglers are happy to do this. It is clear that angling is not the cause of the Atlantic Salmon crisis that we all face but rather losses that occur at sea are responsible. The Board supports evidence based approaches that increase the number of juveniles leaving the river in the hope and expectation more may return.
The Board requires rod catch data from proprietors and so too does the Marine Directive. Both forms should be completed and returned separately to each organisation.
The Board are currently exploring ways to simplify annual catch reporting.
Community Engagement
The Board will hold several Board meetings annually, all of which are open to the Public.
Each spring there will be an annual proprietors meeting where owners will hear of our activities and priorities for the next year. They will have the opportunity to scrutinise and approve the accounts and comment on matters arising and future Board priorities and direction.
Ayrshire Rivers Trust biologists will present their latest data on fish stocks and any current issues or items they feel worth highlighting.
The Board holds the Annual Public Meeting in November.
Calling notices with dates and venues for all meetings will be published on these pages, on Ayrshire Rivers Trust social media outlets and circulated to the proprietors at least 21 days in advance.
Over and above formal engagement described above, Ayrshire Rivers Trust will be active on the river throughout the year and may have several projects underway. Anyone keen to help or be involved with such work should contact the biologists with their availability. They are always pleased to have volunteer assistance.
Fishing
Salmon and Sea trout fishing season opens on the 25th February and closes on the 31st October. Brown trout season opens on the 15th March and closes on the 6th October.
Anglers must have written permission to fish on the river for any species. Permits are available through clubs or owners.
This new web page allows us to promote fishing on the river and will share information on where and how to buy permits or season tickets.
Beats on the river are encouraged to provide details to the Clerk for inclusion on the site. We will have a dedicated page within this web site on which fishing details will be published in due course.
With the 2025 season well underway, and reports of catches coming in, here is the latest advice on fish handling from Fishery Management Scotland.
Regulatory Compliance
The Board issues a Code of Conduct each year with advice and recommendations for anglers that we hope is observed.
Individual beats may adopt their own rules so long as they meet the legal requirements. Our bailiffs enforce these rules and current legislation.
The Salmon and sea trout fishing season opens on the 25th February and closes on 31st October.
Trout fishing opens on the 15th March and closes on the 6th October.
Shrimp and Prawn fishing is banned across the catchment.
The River Girvan is categorised as in 'poor' conservation status for 2025 & 2026. Consequently, under the Conservation of Salmon Regulations, catch and release is mandatory for salmon and our bailiffs will enforce this.
Salmon that die after capture must be returned to the river. There is no excuse for taking salmon from this river.
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Fishery Beats
5
Board Members
2024
Rod catch data (coming soon)
Contact us
Telephone: 01290 518130
E-mail: clerk@rivergirvandistrictsalmonfisheryboard.co.uk
Address: Stuart Brabbs, Clerk to the River Girvan DSFB, c/o Ayrshire Rivers Trust, 2 Crosshill Cottages, Near Mauchline, East Ayrshire KA5 5HJ United Kingdom