Scotland particularly in relation to taxation, were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the Smith Commission. The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the north-west coast of Continental Europe. The total area is , comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea
River Esk, Dumfries and Galloway Longtown the river enters England and merges with the River Lyne and enters the Solway Firth near the mouth of the River Eden. It was formerly one of the boundaries of the Debatable Lands as marked by the Scots' Dike. The Scotland Act 1998 (Border Rivers) Order 1999 provides that functions relating to the management of salmon, trout, eels and freshwater fish in respect of the whole of the River Esk remain with UK ministers: the Border Esk and its tributaries are the only rivers in Scotland where an Environment Agency rod licence is required for angling. The various tributaries