Gravel removal from rivers causing ‘serious damage’ to fisheries

CONTINUING removal of gravel and other materials from riverbeds in Cork and Kerry is causing serious damage to fisheries, the South Western Regional Fisheries Board has claimed.

Spawning areas for salmon and trout are being destroyed and four incidents in the past three weeks will lead to prosecutions, board chief executive Aidan Barry said yesterday.

“It has to be pointed out that destruction of fish habitat is just as serious as fish kills,” he said. Fish cannot spawn without gravel and it can take years for a riverbed to recover after the extraction of gravel,” he said.