Some of the Republic's best-known salmon and trout fisheries in the west of Ireland are to benefit from an €8 million water-quality monitoring programme, announced yesterday. Tim O'Brien, Regional Development Correspondent, reports.
The Western Region River Basin Project will monitor major loughs, including Loughs Arrow, Carrowmore, Conn, Corrib and Mask; and river systems, including the Bonet, Clare, Robe, Moy and Owenmore; as well as related coastal waters and groundwaters.
The fisheries attract regular visitors from Britain, continental Europe and the US, but in recent years there have been complaints of declining fish stocks and rising pollution. In Lough Conn, reports have indicated a decline in the number of large trout, while sewage has been a problem in its neighbour, Lough Cullin.
Contamination as a result of phosphate run-off from agricultural lands has also been reported.
Tourism bodies in the region have expressed concern that a poor water quality would lead to a reduction in fishing holidays.
The new scheme proposes to identify sources and potential sources of pollution and amass the information required for a comprehensive river-basin management plan.
About €7.8 million has been committed to the programme over the next four years.
The monitoring project will involve parts of Cos Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon.
Under the EU Water Framework Directive, the State is required to identify "high status" water and prevent its deterioration.
A water-quality management plan is already in place for the Moy catchment, and draft management plans have been compiled for Loughs Conn and Mask. These plans and the findings of the Lough Conn Task Force will be incorporated into the larger Western Region project.
Announcing the funding yesterday, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, said the investment "will lead to cleaner rivers and lakes within the western region. The objective of the project is to establish an integrated water quality management system for all waters in the region.
"The project aims to identify all significant impacts on water quality and quantity, to set quality objectives and to identify and put in place the necessary monitoring and management measures to achieve those objectives."