IFI needs to take urgent action to save remaining Blackwater salmon
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), as a a result of its policies, is presiding over a situation in direct contravention of its collective and individual legal obligation to protect and conserve the North Atlantic salmon stocks in the Blackwater.
I have worked full time on the Blackwater for eight years, my job is a humble ghillie on the Ballymaquirke Fishery near Banteer c.3miles south of Kanturk. My employer is Brian Murphy O’Connor, Waterfall, Co Cork. He is an accomplished salmon angler who has had the fishery for about 30 years, it comprises some 20 named pools, being nearly two miles of prime water.
At the time of writing I am ashamed to say that I doubt if there is a single salmon in the whole of the two miles, if there is I haven’t seen it and I am obviously on the water every day. We are more than half way through the season and I have seen five salmon since opening day including two that have been caught. Last season was also terrible.
We have had at least six floods with the river running at over four feet and prolonged spells of perfect running conditions for the fish to ascent this beat and beyond. The fact is they simply aren’t there. Odd fish were caught around Millstreet - which is about ten miles upstream - as early as April which reinforces the fact that the conditions were there for fish to run as far as they wanted had they been present in any great numbers. I am the only full time ghillie for about 30 miles but there are many, probably hundreds of anglers who will confirm this.
It is time for IFI to take decisive action to protect and ensure future fish stocks. As well as taking fast action, they must undertake that which are are outlined below:
The first step you must take is the immediate cessation of netting activities. Last week an IFI official admitted to me regarding salmon numbers “we can’t predict what will materialise, we just can’t tell”.
However, it could also be said that historically there was more intense netting of the Blackwater and yet there were still plenty of salmon ascending the river, so the nets cannot be entirely to blame.
However times change, the grilse run is virtually non existent and the same goes for the multi sea winter fish, so to impose a net quota of 1,585 (IFI figures) on an already beleaguered population can only be described as ludicrous.
The second part of this is that by immediately stopping the three drift nets and five snap nets nobody is going to lose a job as splitting 1,585 fish between eight nets means that although in the whole it is a lot of fish, no one is going to make a living wage. Conversely it is true that each rod caught salmon beings in much revenue to the local communities, the least of which is fishing rental and the greater part of which comprises tourism based spending on accommodation, shopping, garages etc.
The second immediate step the IFI should take is to reduce the rod quota by at least that of the nets, preferably around 2,000.
The reduction in the rod quota could be easily achieved by simply contacting the people who issue the tags and instruct them that each licence holder is to receive only half the tag allowance per licence, i.e. five instead of ten. If someone has managed to use five already they would be given one more in order to permit them to keep fishing on a catch and release basis. This would reduce the rod quota from 3,880 to 1,880.
Having taken the above measures immediately the IFI should implement longer term measures:
(a) A heavy cormorant cull, there are hordes of these birds on the Blackwater, each one can take up to 40 parr or smolts a day.
(b) Consider re-opening the fish trapping facilities and hatchery which shut down at lest eight years ago.
(c) Implement a restriction on fishing methods. It would cause upset especially amongst the purveyors of worms, shrimps and prawns, but for the good of the salmon population it makes sense. Scottish rivers have had such a policy in place for years, so why not the Blackwater?
(d) Press for an accurate assessment of the Irish seal population and implement a reasonable cull, especially round river estuaries.
I don’t expect all salmon anglers to agree with every point in this letter, but they are all made with the best intentions.
“The wildlife of today is not ours to dispose of as we wish, we hold it in trust for those who follow.”
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