Andrew Douglas-Home began the report by stating: "After a year of taking some stick from both anglers and the angling press alike for what they perceive as Tweed management's failings and inadequacies, my report this year will pull no punches and, to deliberately mix some metaphors, where I have people in my sights, it is time to fire some bullets."

Despite reduced catches of salmon on the Tweed compared to 2008, Mr Douglas-Home returned fire at the critics.

He said: "2009 was not that bad a fishing year; indeed I would be surprised if any other UK river exceeded our rod catch of 10,465 salmon for 2009. It is also well in the top half of Tweed rod catches of the last 30 years.

"With the notable exception of the Aberdeenshire Dee, almost all UK salmon rivers suffered reduced catches in 2009. Our reduction of 25 per cent, from our previous five-year average of 14,000, being pretty typical.

"Unless all rivers are making the same mistakes, it is a fair assumption that reduced salmon runs are a result of conditions in the sea which have affected us all."

Mr Douglas-Home said that he personally favoured full catch and release for all spring salmon, despite the commission's recent decision to aim for a 75 per cent return through alternate release for rod-caught fish until the end of June.

In his report he said: "My real concern is for our spring fish. Of all our identifiable stocks, springers have for many years now been the weakest. Moreover, in angling and therefore financial terms, they are the most important. Without springers, we have a three or four months fishing season with all that implies for employment and the wider angling related local economy.

"When the might of Tweed's fly fishing and toby spoon-wielding anglers can only catch some 1100 (half our previous five-year spring average) over the five months from February 1 to June 30, there is only one conclusion: there were very, very few springers.

"Killing any of them in these circumstances is, to my mind, just plain stupid," he said.

"Most anglers, I am glad to say, heeded our early pleas to stop killing them and I congratulate them all, and especially their accompanying and hugely supportive boatmen.

"I personally favour full catch and release for springers even if for 2010 we have proposed something short of this."

He added: "If I am to fire a bullet at anyone, it is at those Tweed anglers who still think the old hunter/gatherer/killing argument holds sway over preservation of the species. I have no time for them at all."

In 2009, a total of 12,199 salmon were caught on the Tweed, 10,465 by rods - with 63 per cent of those returned.

Two-thirds of the salmon were caught on the lower beats of the river, with just short of 4000 salmon hooked in October.

Once again, the trend of reduced salmon size continued last year, with just 23 fish over 25lb caught.

The biggest salmon of the year, weighing in at 30lbs, was caught on The Lees beat on the lower Tweed, just up river from Coldstream.

"As poor catches were also reported on other East Coast rivers the cause was likely to have been in the sea."

Net catches of sea-trout saw an increase last year, with the best catch for nine years recorded.

Over 4800 of the 6671 sea-trout caught in 2009 were landed by nets, with 46 per cent of those caught by rod released.

The report states that the total caught was probably much higher, however, as many may not have been declared by trout fishermen, even if released.

Nick Yonge, clerk to the commission, said: "Whilst the catch for salmon was disappointing in 2009, it is pleasing that sea-trout catches improved slightly.

"There is nothing in the monitoring of the freshwater phase of the salmon life-cycle that indicates that the reduction in catch last year was due to any problem in the Tweed itself.

"As similar reductions have been seen in most salmon rivers last year, it is likely that less favourable conditions at sea were the cause."

Meanwhile a hatchery on the Tweed has been firmly ruled out by the chairman.

Mr Douglas-Home said that there was a 'legion' of anglers, supported by some 'highly irresponsible' angling press, who wanted a hatchery established for the Tweed, but he uncompromisingly emphasised his objections to such a proposal.

He highlighted an Environment Agency report on the River Tyne's hatchery, which said that direct hatchery returns were estimated to be between two and seven per cent.

Mr Douglas-Home said: "In other words, between 93 per cent and 98 per cent of the catch did not come from hatchery fish.

"Tweed is a far more prolific fishery than the Tyne and one cannot help thinking that the dilution of any hatchery fish in a bigger wild population would result in an even smaller percentage catch from any hatchery production.

"Moreover, nobody has ever yet been able to produce spring fish in a hatchery; we tried it many years ago and what few fish we could trace as coming back came back as grilse."

He added: "The Spey and the Tay have hatcheries, as of course does the Tyne. Just like us, they all suffered declines in catches in 2009. I could go on and discuss the cost!"

The chairman went on to draw attention to the River Dee in Aberdeenshire, which he explained had experienced 'terrifying' declines in catch figures in the 1980s and 90s, but had resisted calls from anglers to create a hatchery and, in fact, had gone full catch and release some years ago in an effort to conserve fish stocks.

Mr Douglas-Home said: "In 2009, the Dee may be the only river whose catch actually went up. Dee managers would be the first to accept that there is an element of luck in all this, as there always will be with nature, but how they deserve their success.

"I congratulate them with all my heart for sticking to their management principles.

"Here on Tweed we have identical principles which, for over 20 years, have all been functions of research and objective decision-making, rather than the whim of the moment; and, like the Dee, we too intend to stick to those principles."