Members of the public and interested parties are invited to send written submissions for consideration by the Inland Fisheries Division of the Department of Communication, Energy and Natural Resources in preparing a new Inland Fisheries Act.
The new Act will consolidate, update and amend existing legislation which governs the conservation, protection, management and development of the inland fisheries and sea angling resources.
Submissions may be sent to IFLegislation@dcenr.gov or John Donohoe, Elm House, Earls Vale Road, Cavan. Closing date is Friday, June 28th.
In a related notice, the No Salmon Farms At Sea (NSFAS) group believe it is vital that submissions under the public consultation phase are made as soon as possible. The group requests this notice be brought to the attention of clubs, organisations and those with an interest in protecting our fisheries.
“In our opinion, one of the most important points which must be raised is the necessity to have an independent organisation placed in control of monitoring of the aquaculture industry,” said a spokesperson for NSFAS.
Colin Folan, fisheries manager at Lough Inagh, said: “Three fisheries in Connemara are noticing devastating numbers of heavily sea liced sea trout (and smolts) returning to their rivers. The three rivers are adjacent to salmon farms at sea.”
Good grilse in Galway
At the Galway Weir, the broken weather saw water levels rise, with an extra sluice gate open. The run of grilse remained high all week, with 79 landed, many coming to fly and shrimp. Catch of the week went to Lucie Fauquet from Switzerland who, as a fisheries student on summer work placement at the Galway fishery, landed her first ever salmon, a nice grilse of 2.3kg.
All calm on Beltra
A quieter week on Beltra in comparison to previous weeks; however, fresh fish continued to be caught. Peadar Jennings scored with a fresh grilse from the Boathouse, while the following day James Burns boated a fish at Morrison's and turned several more.
Dave Malpas also found success on an Octopus in front of the Boathouse, with Martin McCoy landing a fine salmon of 4.5kg, also at the Boathouse.
New arrivals at Inagh
On Inagh, heavy rain saw the water rise to perfect fishing levels and the arrival of significant numbers of grilse. There are some sea trout entering also, but the main run has not started yet. Ten salmon were recorded for the week for 24 rod days. Rob Byrne, Dublin, fished the Derryclare Butts for the first time, and was rewarded with two fresh fish weighing 2.8kg and 6.3kg, on a Cascade and Willie Gunn Tube.
Young anglers' day
Lough Sheelin Trout Preservation Association is planning a youth angling day on Saturday July 13th. The event is open to enthusiasts from age 7 to 16 and will include fly tying, casting and fishing, with a barbecue and prize presentation rounding off the day. Contact Eamon Ross, 087-9436655 or Thomas Lynch, 087-9132033.
Andrew Brown, Dublin, had a bumper week with two trout for 1.6kg and .68kg off Church and Crover shore; two more for 1.6kg at the weekend at 11pm at Sailors Garden and one at almost .9kg around Rusheen, all on spent. On some occasions his spent variation was spat out and shook out by some great fish and refused by many more. The best trout weighed in at over 2.7kg caught by Gerard Usher on a spent gnat. Total number of fish recorded: 325.
The spell of broken weather sparked new life into fishing on Corrib, but few anglers took advantage. This is the time of year for early morning Caenis hatches – a spell of calm weather could see some good fishing. Campto buzzer and sedge fishing in the evenings should also be starting in earnest.
While fishing out of Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford, Joe Curran of the Borough SAC caught a very large greater spotted dogfish (bull huss). The fish weighed around 10kg (22lb) but due to the movement of the boat and the fish it could have weighed a little more or less. The Irish record stands at 10.7kg (23lb 13oz). “Sooner than kill the fish to get an accurate weight on land Joe chose to release it to fight another day,” Stan Ryan said.
Last weekend, a group from Dublin, Kildare and England set out from Killala Harbour, Co Mayo on board the charter boat Leah. Fishing was slow to begin with but steady, with many pollack, coalfish, pouting and ling to 4kg caught and released. Mackerel fishing was patchy with only about 50 caught. To book contact Donal Kennedy on 086-8174509.
angling@irishtimes.com
