Decline in salmon may close Feale

A SHARP decline in the number of salmon entering a well-known angling river could close it as a fishery in 2013.

Anglers on the Feale, which rises near Rockchapel, Co Cork, and flows through Abbeyfeale and Listowel, before entering the sea at Ballybunion, Co Kerry, are concerned the river may not reach its conservation limit (the number of salmon left to spawn) and will be closed under EU habitat laws.

Only 1,208 salmon travelled upstream in the first six months of this year. An average of 665 salmon per month is needed for the remainder of the year if the conservation figure of 4,323 is to be reached. There are 600 anglers and 51 commercial draft net fishermen on the Feale, and closure of the fishery would have financial and social consequences, says Brendan Danaher, spokesman for the Mountcollins and Brosna Anglers’ Association. Licence fee revenue is €1m, there is income for net fishermen, and recreational value for anglers.