Dredging of river goes ahead after stand-off

DREDGING of a flood-prone river has been given the go-ahead after an early-morning stand-off between a local authority and the state’s fisheries watchdog was resolved.

The stand-off developed on the banks of the River Bandon in Co Cork after contractors working for Cork County Council began removing tonnes of gravel from the bed around the town’s main bridge.

Two officers from the Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) arrived on site an ordered the work to stop. It is an offence under the Fisheries Act to disturb any riverbed, bank or shallow where the spawn or fry of salmon, trout or eels may be.