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Constitution of the Orkney Trout Fishing Association

1. The Association shall be called the ORKNEY TROUT FISHING ASSOCIATION.

2. The object of the Association shall be the pursuit of the art of angling, the preservation and improvement of the angling facilities in Orkney, not only with a view to providing better sport for residents and visitors, but in the interests of the county generally; and, in the event of the funds of the Association being sufficient, to carry on all or any of the works following:— (a) The artificial culture of brown and sea trout for stocking the lochs and streams. (b) The dredging of the lochs, with the consent of the proprietors, for the purpose of clearing them of weeds. (c) The clearing and opening up of burns with the consent of proprietors, to permit the more ready passage of fish from the sea for the purpose of spawning. (d) Any other works the Association may consider advisable in the furthering of its aims.

3. All the property of the Association shall be vested in, and all its business shall be managed by, a Management Committee consisting of a President, four Vice-presidents, a Secretary, or two Joint Secretaries, a Treasurer and eight other members of committee; seven to form a quorum. Each year, at the Annual General Meeting, the President, Vice-presidents, Secretary and the Treasurer shall retire, but shall be eligible for re-election, and two of the ordinary members of the committee shall retire by rotation, and shall not be eligible for re-election until the lapse of a year. The Committee shall have powers to fill casual vacancies in their number, but any person so chosen shall retain his office only so long as the vacating member would have retained the same if no vacancy had occurred. 3a. For the convenience of members there shall be a Branch in Stromness with powers to form their own local committees. Funds may be retained for Branch administration expenses, all other monies shall be remitted to the Association Treasurer. The Branch shall be represented on the Management Committee of the Association by a maximum of five of its members. The names of the five members to be submitted at the AGM.

4. Any two of the President, or Secretary and Treasurer for the time being shall be empowered to operate on the Association’s Bank Account, two of their signatures being sufficient.

5. Membership is open on application, but the election of members shall be vested in the Management Committee.

6. The financial year of the Association shall be from the first day of January to the 31st December. The annual subscription of members shall be determined by the Association at the AGM, and becomes due on the 1st March, but every member will be at liberty to make such further donations to the funds of the Association from time to time as he or she may think fit. Any person whose subscription is in arrears shall not be allowed to vote at any meeting of the Association. A social evening shall be held during the third week of November at which the season’s trophies and prizes will be presented.

7. A register shall be kept of all members of the Association.

8. The Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held during February of each year, at which meeting the Annual reports of the Secretary or Secretaries and Financial Statement by the Treasurer shall be submitted together with Branch Report and Financial Statement. The Financial Statements shall be examined by auditors appointed by the Association. The election of office-bearers and committee for the year shall take place at this meeting. 3 At any General Meeting, twenty shall be a quorum. The Annual General Meeting of the Association will be called by advertisement in the Local Press.

9. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association may be called on a requisition being made in writing to the Secretary, signed by at least five members of the Association; fourteen days’ notice of any such meeting must be given to members by advertisement in the Local Press.

10. No alteration of the Constitution & Bye-laws shall be made except at a General Meeting of the Association. Any proposed alteration of the Constitution & Bye-laws must be made in writing to the Secretary of the Association. A General Meeting called to consider such an alteration shall require fourteen days’ notice to the membership in the Local Press, specifying the proposed alteration. No such alteration shall be made unless two-thirds of members present vote in favour of the proposed alteration. However, proposed alterations by the management Committee shall become adopted unless one third of the members present vote against the alterations. At any such General Meeting, only matters relevant to the Stated Motion shall be considered.

11. It is recommended that all loch trout under 10 inches, and sea trout under 12 inches, will be returned to the water.

12. As one of the objects of the Association is to encourage sportsmanship in fishing, any member who shall take part in irregular practises or poaching shall be requested to withdraw from the Association. Unsporting fishing shall be defined as trolling, or the use of more than one rod per person at one time.

ASSOCIATION SITES

1. Association sites and parking facilities available thereon are for the use of members only. Fishing huts must be left lockfast and gates kept closed at all times. All litter to be deposited in containers provided.

2. Piers on Association sites are to be used only for embarking and dis-embarking — no boats to be permanently moored alongside piers, nor should boats lean against or be tied to site fences. Where a specific launching area so marked exists, access to it must be kept clear of cars, trailers, boats, etc.

3. Boats, when not in use, must be drawn clear of the water and cause no obstruction in access to the loch for other anglers.

4. Members leaving boats or vehicles on Association Sites do so at their own risk.

5. The Association reserves the right to remove, after due notice, any member’s boat from an Association Site where the regulations are not observed.

6. No camping or caravanning is allowed on any Association Site and no cooking allowed within site buildings.

7. No member of the Association shall make financial gain from Association Sites by letting boats.

Revised February, 1998

O.T.F.A. CODE OF PRACTICE SAFETY

All members are urged to be aware of the inherent dangers of angling to themselves and others. The drowning risks resulting from deep wading and boat fishing are well known. It is difficult to make hard and fast safety rules as the risks are dependant on many factors such as the experience and competency of the individual; the size and type of boat and engine and the actual waters being fished. Our climate plays a vital part in the safety equation. Anglers must never take risks with the weather. If it looks too rough - don’t go out. Whatever the case, personal buoyancy equipment is now widely available and reasonably priced for angling purposes. Factors affecting the selection of such equipment include frequency of use, size and weight of wearer, ability to swim, other clothing worn, loch and weather conditions and availability of help. Remember, even if you are a swimmer, a bump on the head could result in unconsciousness. The use of such equipment is strongly recommended by the OTFA. Wading anglers should be particularly vigilant in the vicinity of overhead power lines. Contact or near contact with carbon fibre rods may result in fatality.

Orkney Trout Fishing Association - Design and Management by Jim Adams