IRELAND’S INLAND fisheries were described yesterday as a “national treasure” by Taoiseach Enda Kenny as he performed the official opening of the refurbished salmon weir on the river Moy in Ballina, Co Mayo.
Rod catches for salmon on the Moy topped the 12,000 mark last year, Mr Kenny said, adding the catch statistics explained why Ballina deserved its designation by Fáilte Ireland in 2008 as the “salmon capital of Ireland”.
The refurbished weir combines both old and new stonework, as well as modern hydraulic installations. It is the first major fisheries infrastructure completed by Inland Fisheries Ireland since its inception in July of last year.
Most of the €1 million-plus construction costs were funded from income generated from salmon angling licences and permit sales.
Mr Kenny said at yesterday’s ceremony the fact that over 60 per cent of the licence fee income in the Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim area came from visitors outside of the three counties highlighted the importance of the fisheries and tourism sectors to the local economy.
He added: “This is money earned locally, spent locally, in a capital investment that will benefit both locals and the national economy as a whole.”
Mr Kenny congratulated Inland Fisheries Ireland, the former North Western Regional Fisheries Board, and the project management team on the completion of what he called a “complex and difficult project.”
The refurbished weir, a protected structure, has been welcomed in Ballina as a further step towards the development of a salmon quarter as well as a salmon life centre in Ballina.
The new-look weir has fish counters to determine fish numbers. It also has enhanced surveillance systems to deter poachers.
The latter provision was welcomed by the Taoiseach yesterday. He said it would free fisheries protection personnel for other essential duties.
Moves are now under way to exploit the angling potential of the upper stretches of the Moy, upstream of Cloongullane Bridge near Swinford, which are currently underutilised, Mr Kenny said.