foreshore

[ferreting1888 7]

hi guys where is the fore shore and whats the rules on shooting the foreshore? any help would be great

thanks sean

[SportingShooter 0]

The foreshore is when you walk so far and you're feet get wet

 

The foreshore is anywhere below the mean high water mark of ordinary spring tides.

 

In England & Wales, the foreshore is managed by the Crown Estates, and leases are given to those that buy them. Now, at the moment, almost all foreshore leases are managed by BASC and in the keeping of Wildfowling Clubs.

 

In Scotland, the Foreshore is still open to anyone. There are no restrictions on shooting on the Scottish foreshore unless there is a Club that independently owns the lease. There are restrictions on the use of Lead Shot also.

 

I see you're in Scotland, but even so, I would be taking the advice and guidance of an experienced fowler before I went roaming the marshes as they can be Hazardous and dangerous places.

 

SS

[ferreting1888 7]

yes i understand. i wont jus walk anywhere without knowing the ins and outs of it.

could anyone give me a little more info on this please.

thanks sean

[welshboy454 3]

yes i understand. i wont jus walk anywhere without knowing the ins and outs of it.

could anyone give me a little more info on this please.

thanks sean

In fairness Sporting Shooter has covered it

 

" The foreshore is anywhere below the mean high water mark of ordinary spring tides."

 

This may be a bit of a mystery if you don't understand how the tides work as the moon and the sun have an influence.

 

On a full moon and at no moon the tides are at their highest range ie they are high on the shore and recede further out.

Not sure about Scotland but where I live the difference in the high tides at full/no moon to a week later can be 2 metres- enough to drown you if you picked a spot on the previous week and returned there.

The next thing you need to follow is the tide tables which can be found on the bbc website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast/tides/

Remember though that a gale can push the body of water to a higher tideline than the tide table prediction and waves increase it further.

A few times a year there are exceptionally high tides caused by a combination of the gravitational pull of the moon and sun together.

So to define the foreshore an average of normal spring tides gathered over a number of years are used which the Crown Estate have maps of.

At a practical level in our estuary the guideline is that if you are on the mud as opposed to the marsh grass/scrub you can shoot as you are on the foreshore.

[tom1cameron 1]

Step 1: Join BASC (that is a personal position, but it does help, especially in Scotland/ or perhaps I should say that in general BASC helps Scottish fowling)...Step 2: If there is one that os practical or nearby to you...join a fowling club (ESWCA as a general East coast club or there are some more local ones) or get a fowling contact via the BASC scotland office....

 

Drop me a PM stating where you are based and where you would like to go fowling and I'll see what I can suggest. But that is what BASC Scotland are there for and they would love to hear from you!

 

Foreshore fowling in Scotland is only prohibited under byelaws which are brought in by local authorities. There are no foreshore leases in Scotland so clubs can only manage land above the foreshore but it does not stop anyone hunting the foreshore (unless that foreshore is unaccessable/dangerous etc etc).