I am not sure if everyone is aware of the serious situation we currently have at Gunknowe Loch right now.
In the past few years, there has been an increase in fishing at the Pond. These 'fishermen' are mostly young teenagers who do not know what they are doing. They cast their lines inches from the birds, and even hook ducks deliberately.
The 'Death and Injury',diary, compiled by myself, can been seen below.

Apart from this, I have witnessed perch being stamped on, live Pike being kicked about.

Tweedbank Pond was not built for fishing. It is too small, and the population of waterfowl takes up the whole pond, there is no place where the birds don't go. The fish were also released there, and are partly tame.

Lets do whatever possible to get this banned once and for all!
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DEATH AND INJURY DIARY (Tweedbank Pond)

1. Summer 02, A seagull was found with two 3 barbed hooks, one
through foot, another under wing.

2. Summer 01, a swan cob with fishing hook and wire trailing from
his leg, managed to get it caught on one of the wire hay bale
holders.
He was unable to move and the resident male swan took advantage of
this and attacked him, drowning him.

3. Autumn 01, one of this years young swans, swallowed led and had to
be taken to
the swan sanctuary in Berwick.

4. A male coot with young, which struggled with wire embedded round
his leg, also got it caught on the wire hay bale holder, and was
found
dead a few days later, leaving just the female to raise the young.

5. Another coot with fishing wire round his leg, managed to escape
several attempts of capture from the SSPCA, and has now lost a toe
due to line severing it.

6. The SSPCA were called out last year, to another young swan with a
cork and wire hanging from mouth.

7. A young boy was witnessed deliberately hooking one of the cygnets.

8. Summer 01, Cygnet has been taken from pond due to fishing injury,
although extent of damage is not known, at such a young age, it
should
still be with mother.

10. Summer 02. Resident female swan had 4 cygnets. Two
of them would not come off the island for days. It was discovered due
to wire strangulation and being completely bound in fishing line,
they couldn't move. Both died.

11. One of remaining two cygnets had to be caught to release a
brightly coloured spinner and line from his mouth. Although
traumatised, luckily he was able to go straight back to his mother.

12. Winter 03, a coot became the victim of fishing line. The coot was
seen with wire coming straight from mouth, and pulling taught,
disappearing in to the back plumage. Coot was gagging and head was
forced back due to line pulling. SSPCA were unable to catch the coot.

13. A teenager was spotted hooking a swan, and despite the swan being
wrapped in the line, he continued hauling, pulling in the line.

14. Pink footed goose was spotted with wire hanging loose round both
legs. Luckily, it was removed.

all of that wil b from ppl wat don't care, I used 2 fish in that pond n always taken great care of wat I was doin. summer 2013 atleast 18+ coots hav been eatin by the pike, a couple ppl and myself hav sat at the pub n watched the pike drag them under the water, since the fishin was banned the pike got bigger n more ducks r dying.