A new State agency comes into being today with the amalgamation of seven regional fisheries boards and the Central Fisheries Board.

I WAS disappointed to read your editorial entitled ‘Fishery reopened — A disgraceful concession’ (May 26).

BALES of barley are being placed in the Lough in Cork to protect the quality of its water this summer.

ANGLERS and conservationists are mounting strong opposition to moves to change a law that has imposed a complete ban on commercial fishing for sea bass over the past 20 years.

NEW laws should help curb the rapid spread of non-native invasive plants and animals around Ireland – something that is causing growing anxiety among people responsible for protecting waterways, nature and the environment in general.

FEW people forget the primal thrill of landing their first fish.

An angler has caught the largest salmon for almost 20 years on a river almost decimated by falling stocks.

A routine river survey took an unexpected twist today after scientists pulled a 10ft monster python from the water in Co Wexford.

Current CEO of the Central Fisheries Board Dr Ciaran Byrne has been named as the head of the new amalgated national inland fisheries authority.

A RAFT of plants are to be banned from sale in garden centres later this year as the Department of the Environment moves to curb the damage inflicted on Irish wildlife by the importation of non-native species.

The EU tonight rubbished reports it intends reeling in recreational fishing by imposing quotas on all sea anglers in a bid to protect endangered species.

A SPECIALLY designed weed-cutting machine, which has been introduced to Lough Corrib to tackle an invasive plant, may yet be seen in other parts of the country.

EEL stocks in Ireland and Europe are now so depleted as to be under threat, and radical action is needed to ensure the survival of the species.

Donal Hickey hears ambitious plan has its detractors.

Donal Hickey says deaths are baffling scientists

ANGLERS are seeking a ban on fishing in a river where thousands of fish died after a landslide two weeks ago.

A STUDY is being carried out to establish the case of declining salmon stocks in the Shannon river.

Ireland’s world famous trout and salmon rivers could be devastated by climate change, experts warned today.

THESE DAYS the rabbits seen from our first floor windows hop about in a field of head-high buttercups. Every evening, about eight o’clock, a fox passes at the top of the field.

CONCERNS voiced by anglers and conservationists about pondweed — both the Canadian and African varieties — in some of our most famous lakes highlight the impact of many invasive, alien species in Ireland.

ANGLERS, boatmen and rowing clubs are becoming increasingly concerned about the rapid growth of Canadian pondweed in Killarney’s lakes.

RESTRICTIONS are being introduced among salmon and sea trout fishermen in the Waterford area in a desperate bid to preserve stocks.

FORESTRY and sheep farming are likely to come under closer scrutiny as the EPA detects a worrying trend of decline in the number and percentage of river stations achieving the highest biological water quality.

I READ a report (Irish Examiner, April 14) that Aidan Barry, chief executive of the South-Western Regional Fisheries Board, is effectively accusing RTÉ of broadcasting misinformation.

I REFER to the report by Anne Lucey headlined: ‘Board calls for unity of salmon interests.’ (Irish Examiner, February 10).

Donal Hickey

THE Taoiseach yesterday defended his single greatest sartorial crime — the decision to wear those yellow trousers at the G8 summit.

A group of fishermen is threatening to take the Government to court over plans to cut the number of people allowed to fish for salmon in the country’s waters.

THE number of missing persons missions undertaken by Navy divers last year increased by 150%, the latest annual figures reveal.

The country’s fisheries agency is warning that our waterways are facing devastating pollution from intensive farming and sewage treatment systems.

Up to 70 jobs are to be created in the north-east with the news the Central Fisheries Board will move there.

The Central Fisheries Board has confirmed that it has recommended to anglers that all inland and sea angling be abandoned because of the foot and mouth epidemic.