Madam, - Attracting tourists to the West of Ireland should not present the challenge it seems to. The very product that Ireland promotes overseas is best found in regions such as Connemara and Mayo, yet the numbers visiting these areas are constantly falling.
One major factor is the lack of access by air and poor road and rail connections with Dublin, but a far more sinister development is the decline in the attractions on offer. Your Editorial of January 6th mentions the decline in the numbers of walking and angling visitors; this is particularly true of the Connemara region.
While there is a large area of National Park available for walkers (as demonstrated by the excellent picture of Diamond Hill in your edition of January 5th), there is little informative promotion of this asset. More irreparable damage is being done to our resources and reputation for angling. The rivers and lakes of Connemara have for generations attracted high-spending game anglers from around the world. However, the continuing policies of successive governments in supporting the twin evils of drift-netting and salmon farming have decimated the stocks of both salmon and sea trout.
It is recognised and accepted by every jurisdiction in the world, bar Ireland, that indiscriminate netting of migrating salmon is a major factor in the decline in stocks. Similarly, it is also proven and accepted that the operation of salmon farms in the estuaries of salmon and sea trout rivers precipitates a collapse of salmon and sea trout stocks in those rivers.
Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the catchment of the Ballynahinch fishery system. The introduction of salmon farms to the estuary of this classic fishery caused an immediate collapse in sea trout numbers and has reduced the returning salmon significantly. By contrast, each time the bay is devoid of farmed fish in the spring the rivers enjoy an immediate renaissance in sea trout numbers and the following summer a greater return of salmon.
We are currently enjoying another period of respite as the farm in our bay is experimenting in farming cod, which do not generate salmon lice. We enjoyed a spectacular return of small sea trout last summer and expect to see an improved run of salmon this coming season. This is a wholly sustainable tourism industry: 75 per cent of all salmon caught at Ballynahinch were returned unharmed to the river last year and 100 per cent of all sea trout were released. We implore the Government to take the simple steps to allow a truly sustainable industry such as tourism angling to flourish. - Yours, etc,
PATRICK O'FLAHERTY, Chairman, Ballynahinch Fishery System Co-Operative, General Manager, Ballynahinch Castle Hotel, Recess, Co Galway.