Fish life in lakes under threat from visiting anglers

FISH life in Irish lakes is under a new threat from visiting anglers.

Non-native fish, being brought in by foreign anglers for use as bait, pose a serious threat to indigenous specie, an expert has said.

The most serious incident came to light in recent days at Lough Derg.

During a routine patrol of the lake near Killaloe, officers from the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board (ShRFB) uncovered a potentially dangerous threat to fish life in the lake.

Eamon Cusack, chief executive officer of ShRFB, said:

“A number of French anglers were using live carp as bait for pike fishing.

“During the course of the investigation, officers uncovered live carp on fishing rods, in tanks both inside a boat and in containers which were tied onto another boat.

“There were even live carp being held in a keep net which was attached to the jetty on the shore and in their holiday accommodation.”

The carp, which the anglers had in their possession, was brought in from France.

Mr Cusack said: “The use of live bait in Ireland is illegal for a number of reasons but mainly to prevent non-native fish movements and introduction of disease. Of serious concern to the ShRFB is that carp are not present in Lough Derg.

These carp could have the potential to introduce diseases or, if they became established in Lough Derg, would upset the balance of nature. Lough Derg is the third largest lake in Ireland and is rich in fish species such as trout, bream, pike and roach.”

Eamon Cusack said such incidents are becoming all too common. “While on this occasion I would hope that we have prevented a more serious situation developing, we cannot cover all waters all of the time.

“While we are currently working with other agencies to tighten regulations, it is also imperative on us to make anglers and people aware of the consequences to our native fish of such actions.”

A fisheries awareness week one-day conference will be held in Limerick next Thursday, entitled ‘Shannon Waters — Managing Fisheries in Challenging Times’.

Mr Cusack said: “The conference will address a wide range of issues including the use of imported fish as bait.

“It is vitally important that anglers and those in the tourist industry are aware of the dangers.”

* Further details on the conference can be found at www.shrfb.ie