Transfer of Moy Fishery to local management defended

The Government's transfer of the lucrative Moy fishery in Mayo from central to local management has been defended by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods.

The transfer, which is due to be marked at a reception in Ballina, Co Mayo, today, is part of a policy aimed at encouraging local management of fisheries, a spokesman for the Minister has said. Purchased by the State in 1987, the fishery was run by the Department of the Marine until 1994, and by the Central Fisheries Board (CFB) until this month.

The CFB has had reservations about details of the transfer, but its chief executive, Mr John O'Connor, said yesterday that it had approved the transfer at a special meeting earlier this week. The initiative has been welcomed by the chairman of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board, Mr John Walkin, who said the decision was the result of a long campaign by his elected body. In April 1997, the then Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Eamon Gilmore, issued a directive to the CFB to hand it over, but this was delayed and little progress was made until Dr Woods took office, he said.

This is the second initiative taken in recent months by the Minister about the Moy. Last month, he ordered a review of the use of the controversial salmon traps upstream of Ballina's Ridge Pool.

Dubbed "slaughter chambers" by critics, the traps have been run by the CFB but have attracted widespread opposition. Their use will be suspended this year, and will then be reassessed as part of an overall review of the fishery's development, according to the Minister. The local Save the Wild Atlantic Salmon Committee welcomed this move, but expressed disappointment that a decision has not been taken to abandon the traps for good.