Native trout in danger of being wiped out by chub

VISITING anglers from Britain are thought to be responsible for the introduction of a non-native fish which is now threatening wild trout stocks in the Shannon system.

Chub, a popular coarse fishing species in Britain, has already wiped out native trout on one of the most popular trout fisheries in Co. Westmeath.

The problem poses such a threat to other trout waterways that the Minister for the Marine, Noel Dempsey, will next month introduce emergency legislation to prevent the introduction of chubb to Irish trout waterways.