Harbour fishermen lose traditional way of life

ON May 19 last you carried an article on the banning of draft net fishing for salmon in Castlemaine Harbour, Co Kerry.

The ban was imposed under the provisions of a by-law which has since been set aside by order of the High Court. Proceedings had been instituted by a group of Cromane fishermen whose livelihoods depend on fishing. Their salmon licences had been renewed by the South Western Fisheries Board for the 2008 season which commenced on May 13 last.

However, like a bolt from the blue, a by-law having immediate effect was introduced on May 14 banning draft net fishing in Castlemaine Harbour.

The ban did not extend to draft net fishing in the private fisheries of the rivers Laune and Caragh. The only access runs for salmon destined for these rivers are through the wide open expanses of Castlemaine harbour.

Effectively what the ban meant was to

(a) put an end to a way of life which, from time immemorial, has been sacroscant to generations of Cromane fishermen, and

(b) let their quota of salmon through to be caught in the private fisheries in question.

I am confident the fishermen who are employed in draft net fishing in these fisheries would be among the first to agree that this flies in the face of the most basic tenets of fair play. One can only speculate as to the identity of those at whose behest the draconian ban was imposed.

Finally, I would like to commend the courage of the fishermen who took the successful High Court action and to say thanks to their legal representatives for a job well done.

James Teahan

Lissivigeen

Killarney

Co Kerry