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Chief Executive

Mr Jamie Ribbens


Jamie grew up in Galloway after moving down from Glasgow at the age of seven. A keen interest in angling and natural history as he grew up pushed him into a career working in wild fisheries.


Following an education at Glasgow University (BSc Hons Aquatic Biodiversity) and Edinburgh University (MSc Environmental Protection & Management), he returned to work at GFT in 1995 on a salmon radio tracking project for a couple of years. 

In 2002 he took over as the Senior Fisheries Biologist at the Trust (known then as the West Galloway Fisheries Trust). His particular interests are researching and addressing acidification, understanding fish population dynamics, the restoration of rivers and rare fish research.  In 2024 his role changed to Chief Executive when he became more involved in the strategy, development, risk management and operational oversight of the Trust.  

In his leisure time, Jamie enjoys most country sports, undertaking some cycling, watching live music and working his gun dogs. Jamie is married and has one daughter.

 

Jamie Ribbens

Chief Executive

Latest News


Restoring local peatlands

In spring 2026, Galloway Rivers Trust undertook 22.5 hectares of peatland restoration around Loch Moan in Dumfries and Galloway. Loch Moan is the source of the River Cree, which is an important river in Galloway for its freshwater fish populations including the very rare Sparling.

Luce Riverwoods Project

The River Luce starts in the hills of southern Ayrshire and makes it way down through New Luce and Glenluce before joining the Solway Firth. Throughout its length it acts as a home to a large variety of aquatic species such as salmon and trout, as well as many invertebrate species.

Removing Broom Caul

Galloway River Trust has secured funding from the European Open Rivers Programme for work to remove the Broom Caul. As part of our work to restore the river habitats of the River Annan catchment, the removal of this caul, or weir, has been identified as a priority action.

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