Connacht Tribune
Anglers demand immediate pike cull to save trout lakes
Connacht’s trout anglers are launching an all-out assault on the pike ahead of a major review about the management of the species, which will determine the eco-system of Lough Corrib for generations.
The Connacht Angling Council is pushing for Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) to undertake an immediate pike cull and impose severe penalties for the importation of live bait in its new policy due to be implemented next year.
They want the IFI to maintain its bylaws for gill netting and electro fishing of pike for the pike spawning season and are calling for a closed season for all fishing to be introduced from September 30 to February 15.
Ireland has twelve out of the thirteen EU classified ecologically significant brown trout fisheries. Pike control measures are only implemented on seven of these twelve fisheries.
In its campaign launch last night at the Boat Inn in Oughterard, the council’s chairperson Martin Kinneavy warned that wild brown trout stocks in west of Ireland lakes – including Lough Corrib in Galway and the Mask, Carra, Conn and Cullin in Mayo – are facing wipe out due to “a proliferation of predator pike”.
“Predator pike are eating wild brown trout stocks like never before. Predator pike are far more prolific breeders than wild brown trout and a predator pike will eat as much as 40lbs of wild brown trout per year. Stocks of larger, catchable wild brown trout have diminished rapidly in western waters due to the presence of predator pike,” he insisted.
Wild brown trout angling is reportedly worth €148m per year to the Irish economy. The combined annual expenditure of salmon, sea trout and brown trout anglers is €263 million – compared to €75 million for pike anglers.
“Wild brown trout fisheries are unique eco-systems and need to be protected by law; otherwise, we are staring at a wipe out of wild brown trout. These fisheries should be managed exclusively for the benefit of wild brown trout.”
The trout anglers believe the IFI should establish a full-time office in Galway to deal with issues around wild brown trout, salmon, seatrout, and eels as the West of Ireland is a renowned breeding ground for all of these species.
The recent appearance of non-native Pacific pink salmon in west of Ireland waters shows that a fresh approach to the management of western inland fisheries is crucial, he said.
An interim report by the IFI is due before Christmas, with a final report expected in the new year when an updated policy will be implemented.
The pike anglers argue that the IFI is relying on flawed scientific information as justification for pike control in wild brown trout fisheries. They insist that a PhD study undertaken by University College Dublin in collaboration with the IFI proves that the pike are in fact native to Ireland and that they do not primarily feed on salmonoids – both cornerstones of the IFI current policy.
In its submission to the review, pike anglers want funding presently used by the IFI to remove pike to instead be directed to improving the aquatic habitat for all species.
The pike lobby claim that the removal of pike has resulted in an explosion of invasive species such as roach and perch which breed in millions and compete for the same food sources as trout.
They say brown trout populations are suffering instead from over exploitation by anglers, habitat degradation, pollution and poaching.
The trout anglers insist that that no scientific literature has ever been produced which shows that pike have a benign influence on wild salmonoid fisheries. They contend the Corrib roach population has remained very stable in the lake since 1996 according to IFI stock surveys as roach are the main diet for the large Ferox trout.
John Conneely, director of the Western River Basin District in the IFI, told the Connacht Tribune last February that pike appeared in the Oughterard lakes sometime after 2008 and “had impacted very severely on the salmon and trout on the lakes between Oughterard and Maam”.
During the campaign, ‘Pike are Predators – Save our Wild Brown Trout’, trout anglers will be encouraged to contact Oireachtas representatives ahead of the publication of the review.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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