Silver River
2023 - ongoing
The River Tweed flows from the Southern Uplands of Scotland to the border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England where it meets the North Sea. For 17 miles of its run, it forms the border between the two nations, where it saw centuries of conflict and violence. Today, the border is almost unseen. Those who live around the river cross it daily, moving from one nation to the other without notice.
For hundreds of years the Tweed thrived on a wealthy resource of Atlantic salmon. It used to be said that the river turned silver from the sheer number of fish. Overfishing led to the decline of this industry in the late 20th century. In the decades since, the river has become a sporting destination for line fishing. The rural working class were replaced by holidaymakers and those anglers who can afford the expensive salmon fishing permits.
The fish population is slowly increasing, returning to natural levels. However, the river now faces issues of rising temperatures that threaten the health of the salmon. Jonny told me that most of his job is trying to remedy issues that should have been dealt with 20 years ago.
