Illegal pike in lakes puts trout and salmon stocks at risk

THE WESTERN Regional Fisheries Board has confirmed that pike have been illegally introduced to lakes in Connemara, threatening brown trout and salmon stocks.

Pike, the voracious predator at the top of the freshwater food chain, were found in several lakes on the Owenriff river system near Oughterard, Co Galway. The Owenriff lakes of Lough Boffin and Agraffard are upstream of Lough Corrib and are hugely important spawning and nursery catchments for trout and salmon.

Western Fisheries Board staff have been using electro-fishing to stun and remove the juvenile pike in shallow waters, but it’s likely they will have to introduce widespread netting in deeper waters during spawning next March.