Compliments were flying on
the evening of
The seminar was well
attended by members of
STRESSES ON TROUT WATERS
Eamonn Moore commenced the proceedings with his paper” Stresses on
Trout Waters” and nominated drainage,
abstraction, discharges, and angling issues as contributors to the stresses
exerted on trout waters.
Drainage
With the advent of more efficient
drainage systems the water arrives in the main channels with much greater
rapidity and the natural controls are unable to accommodate this thus giving
rise to the dreadful flooding of recent times.
This runoff can carry unwanted pollutants directly into water courses. The implementation of the river basin
management plans of the water framework directive, which incorporates the
floods directive, will ensure that many of these issues are addressed.
Abstractions
The regulation of this
activity is a relatively recent control and only relates to abstractions of 10m2/day
and greater. The cumulative effect of
unregulated abstractions from
rivers and streams has the potential to reduce levels upstream of
the abstraction point and affect the levels of the feeder streams of the main
channel, this in turn can lower the levels in the fish spawning areas. The speaker recommended that all existing
abstraction points should be inventoried and recorded and that proposals for
abstraction for more than 5m2/day to require an abstraction licence. Additionally, proposals for abstraction
should be assessed for impact on the river system above and below the proposed
abstraction point.
Discharges
Pollutions from
habitation, industry, agriculture and poor waste management practices has produced the most appalling damage to water.
Industrial discharges
require an integrated pollution control licence from the Environmental
Protection Agency. Breaches of this type
of licence are usually catastrophic.
Local authority licence discharges relate to hotels, restaurants, fast
food outlets, small industries etc., these licences are rarely refused and many
breach their conditions bringing severe stresses for a short period of time to
the receiving waters. Local authority
waste water treatment plants may suffer from inadequate capacity leading to
serious discharges into water courses.
In addition septic tanks continue to pose a considerable threat to local
waters.
Unlicensed discharges from
illegal landfills or illegal connections to the sewage system along with the
spreading of farm generated slurry in wet periods or to close to water courses
also present problems. All these discharges
are contrary to the objectives of the water framework directive and these are
serious issues to be addressed by the River Basin District management plans
when they are implemented later this year.
Angling issues
Many
of our fisheries there are now being subjected to angling pressure which cannot
be supported by the wild stock levels.
Angling clubs should consider resting waters and curtailing the number
of rods on the water at any one time.
Boat angling can present one of the greatest threats to the bio security
of angling waters. It is necessary that
there is a well understood and practiced procedure to ensure that all boats and
anglers gear are sanitised and free from carrying contaminants before accessing
other waters.
FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
Ciaran Byrne who is to lead the new national fisheries organisation Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) which
will replaces the Regional Fishery Boards presented his paper on fisheries
management.
The 8 statutory agencies (Regional
Fishery Boards) will be replaced by one agency which will provide for much
clearer policy direction for fisheries.
The vision for the future is that IFI will provide for a national
prospective on fisheries management providing for clear national policies and emerge
as a lean effective efficient inland fisheries organisation governed on a
national basis with a strong responsive presence in specified areas aligned
with River Basin Districts.
The new body IFI will have
one board of nine members and will be supported by a national forum providing
for interaction with stakeholders. The
new organisation will have a strong regional presence but with the governed on
a national basis. The new organisation
will provide for development of national policies to underpin the management of
fisheries including wild brown trout fisheries and will provide for greater
empowerment of the sector in the areas of the development / protection. It is planned
to revise the present fisheries legislation now enshrined in the 1959 Act and
bring forward modernised and strengthened legislation. Also, of critical importance is having a
representative angling body as a coherent sector working together.
Unfortunately due to be present national
economic circumstances discretionary funding for fisheries is virtually non existent
and the effect of cuts in funding, public sector recruitment embargo and
reducing staff numbers will impinge on the progress of IFI.
TROUT GENETIC STUDIES
Martin O’Grady delivered
an interesting an intriguing paper on Trout Genetic Studies in
Recent studies of the trout population in
To date the Rivers not
sampled make up approximately 18 per cent of the stock.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Most
trout home to their natal stream to spawn.
The
Abbert, Cong and Grange fish our very different to the other groups.
There
appears to be a high level of gene flow from the Cornamona to the Bealnabrack
and Oughterard and from the Cross to the Black.
This suggests that the release of fish from the Oughterard hatchery is
having a negligible effect on wild populations.
The
Grange genotype suggests that they have been an isolated population for a very
long time. In contrast the Abbert stock
is different and may have only evolved following their surface connection of
this channel to the Clare river The similarity of so many Rivers on the western
side of the lake, in genetic terms, may well reflect the devastation of so much
habitat in these catchments from overgrazing- i.e. a significant
decline in trout numbers in these rivers could be responsible for this trend.
The
findings will have a major bearing on future conservation and fishery
management planning in this catchment.
FUTURE RESEARCH
Martin stated that an opportunity has arisen to look at the genetic
makeup of trout in
INVASIVE WEED IN LOUGH CORRIB
Greg Forde gave an illustrated and frightening presentation on the
spread of the weed Lagarosiphon major in Lough Corrib. Fishery staff first noticed exceptional weed
growth in
He outlined the efforts and procedures to date that have been employed
in an effort to control the weed including cutting and collection, light
exclusion using plastic sheeting jute sacking and geotextile and presented
illustrations of these operations in progress.
6000 tonnes of the weed had
been cut and removed, and 1000 metre 2 to has been covered at 109
sites.
SCIENTIFIC STUDY
Parallel to Western fishery boards work on the weed a scientific study
under the Life programme funded by the E.U.
is in progress.Dr. Joe Caffrey of the central
fisheries board is spearheading this research the objectives of the research
are;
Control and
eradication of the weed
The restoration of the natural habitat
Public awareness
PROBLEMS
There is no funding for the day to
day operation of the weed control program, there is no mechanism for anglers to
contribute to the operation and the weed continues to spread- new sites are
been discovered constantly.
BIOSECURITY PLAN FOR A LOUGH MASK
To prevent the spread of the problem to neighbouring Lough Mask it is
vital that a bio security plan be put in
place immediately involving;
Buy- in of all agencies-state bodies local authorities etc,.
Involvement of stakeholders-angling clubs, angling clubs and private
operators.
Working group-to progress the prevention recommendations
Education and public awareness.
Finance-boat registration, boat cleaning certificate, agencies, private
operators.
Action before it is too late.