I have served as treasurer of The Society for the last ten years and have, with great regret, decided to stand down at the next AGM. The decision was precipitated by my recent appointment, for a three year term, as chair of the Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland. This is a non-departmental public body responsible for the conservation and protection of the salmon and inland fisheries of Northern Ireland and has 25 permanent staff. Its work is overseen by an executive committee and a board of twenty people nominated from parties with interests in commercial and leisure exploitation and in the conservation of freshwater systems in Northern Ireland. I chair both these committees. I felt it would have been unrealistic to attempt to maintain my role as treasurer as well as taking on this additional responsibility. I also feel that The Society will benefit from the injection of energy that a new treasurer will bring. Needless to say I will continue to support The Society in any way I can and will ensure that the transfer to the new treasurer is as smooth as possible.

Before my term of office ends I must express my gratitude to a number of colleagues in The Society. As members of longer standing may recall, I took over as treasurer under sad circumstances, the tragic accidental death of Tom Thompson. Alan Bebbington served as acting treasurer for a short period until I was elected at the 1990 AGM. I am indebted both to the late Tom Thompson, for leaving The Society's finances in a healthy state and to Alan Bebbington for transferring the accounts books. Elizabeth Platts encouraged professional auditing of the accounts as well as seeking better investments of The Society's capital reserves and, with David Reid and other members of Council and The Society, helped raise funds to capitalise the Centenary award scheme. An anonymous donor and Council were responsible for capitalising the C M Yonge award. In 1996 The Society received its first profit share from Oxford University Press (OUP). This sum is offset against the annual bill for publishing the Journal. The profit share is the result of a clause in The Society's agreement with OUP. The Society and treasurer are particularly indebted to those members of Council whose farsightedness, in negotiating a 50% profit share between The Society and OUP, has been important in the continued financial viability of The Society despite a relatively static number of members. I must thank Stuart (Bill) Bailey for his presentational skills in reducing, without any loss of information, the ten or more pages of the annual accounts into the two pages you see in the August issue of the Bulletin. Thanks are also extended to Fred Naggs, for dealing with sales of supplements and to all those who organised and looked after the finances of meetings over the past ten years. Finally, I must thank both Council members and other members of The Society for the support they have given me over the last ten years. I am sure that the new treasurer will receive the same support.

To help the new treasurer I would encourage prompt payment and regular updating of standing orders to cover subscriptions. In response to membersí requests, The Society has now established credit card facilities, which should be helpful for both UK and overseas members wishing to pay subscriptions using the facility.

D. Roberts

February 2000

I am sure that members will join with me and Council in thanking Dai Roberts for his unstinting work as Honorary Treasurer since 1990. We wish him great success in his new post, and hope that he will continue as an active member of The Society.

Council proposes Elizabeth Platts as new Treasurer, with Mark Davies acting as a Membership Secretary.

David Reid, President