The collapse of trout stocks in Loughs Conn and Cullen, once numbered amongst the most prolific wild fisheries of the West of Ireland, should not surprise people. Rising levels of pollution, caused by bad agricultural practices, untreated sewage from local towns and run-offs from septic tanks, killed the arctic char some years ago.
Now, trout and salmon stocks are under pressure. This year's cancellation of an international fly fishing competition on Lough Conn marks a turning point for a major tourist sector. Many jobs will be lost. The unavoidable message is that Loughs Mask and Corrib will go the same way if drastic, remedial action is not taken.
A similar message comes from the once great salmon rivers of the South: the Nore, Suir and Barrow, along with the Cork Blackwater. Salmon are now so scarce in these rivers that fishery owners and people who depend for their livelihood on angling-tourism worry about a collapse of the sector. They blame driftnet fishermen off the West coast for the fall in numbers.
Rivers are salmon nurseries and pollution can kill salmon parr before they go to sea and when they return to spawn. Some 80 per cent of all adult salmon killed are taken by commercial netsmen; the remaining 20 per cent by rod anglers. Stock levels have more than halved in the past 25 years. As a species, salmon are under a far greater threat than trout. Yet both netsmen and anglers are reluctant to accept the discipline required to guarantee their survival. In that context, the Minister for the Marine, Mr Frank Fahey, may feel his recently-announced conservation measures are all that can be achieved at this time. But they fall far short of what is required.
The scientific advice given to the Department of the Marine was to cut salmon catches by 40 per cent but - in an election year - the Minister opted for a 7 per cent reduction. Even that measure has led to street protests by netsmen. Other conservation measures, limiting anglers to catching one spring salmon or three grilse in a single day and banning their sale, are also being contested. All fishermen must make sacrifices if the salmon is to survive. Pollution must also be tackled.