Salmon anglers in Clare, Limerick and Kerry are opposed to any moves to postpone the opening date of the new fishing season.
Angling clubs in the lower Shannon area from Ennis, Limerick, Listowel and Tralee met this week and deplored a "lack of consultation" by the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board. The board has recommended a two-month postponement next season from February 1st to April 1st on the Mulkear and Fergus rivers and from March 1st to May 1st on the Feale.
A meeting in Limerick was co-ordinated by the Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers, the executive of which has given its full backing to the anglers. Politicians in the three counties are also pledging their support.
A federation spokesman said yesterday that anglers, who take 3 per cent of the salmon harvest and who do most to protect the species and its environment, were not prepared to see their share disappear totally, while drift-netting at sea was permitted to "indiscriminately slaughter" salmon, other marine creatures and sea birds.
He continued: "Early-season angling is as much a social occasion as anything else. There is much more to angling than catching fish, and by their presence on the river banks the anglers will deter poaching and notice if there is anything wrong in the fish's environment.'
At present many clubs have a range of voluntary conservation measures in place, including bag limits, bait restrictions, catch and release, while some employ full-time private water-keepers.
The deteriorating quality of water in the rivers and lakes continues to be a worry to the salmon anglers, and the Limerick meeting appointed a delegation to seek a meeting with the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, who, the spokesman added, "will not want to have an angler revolt on his hands".