Connacht Tribune
Fisheries rows back over Corrib’s predatory pike
By Dara Bradley
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has recommended a change to byelaws on Lough Corrib to remove legal protection from invasive species such as pike – throwing a lifeline to under threat native salmon and brown trout.
In a major policy U-turn that has been welcomed by local salmon and trout anglers, IFI has conceded that byelaws in operation on Lough Corrib Special Area of Conservation (SAC) are in breach of EU Habitats Directive legislation.
In a submission to the Department of Environment, its parent department, IFI recommends that changes are made to the bye-laws to bring them in line with the EU Habitats Directive.
If this happens, then pike and other non-native coarse fish will no longer be afforded the same protections in Lough Corrib as the native wild fish.
Salmon and trout conservationists have hailed the change in policy as a success that, if implemented, could save native species from the threat posed by predatory pike.
Michael Donnellan of Oughterard Anglers welcomed the change in direction of IFI and he urged Government to implement its recommendation, which would strip pike and other non-native species of protections they are currently afforded under byelaws 806 and 809.
“The statutory body involved with fisheries management, the IFI, have accepted the Habitats Directive, and we now want the Department of Environment and Minister Eamon Ryan, to formally adopt the recommendations of the statutory body. They need to amend the byelaws as recommended by IFI.
“If that is done, that basically means that non-native species will not have any legal protection within the SAC, which would then mean that it is in compliance with the Habitats Directive,” Mr Donnellan said.
Earlier this year, the Department held a public consultation about Designated Salmonid Waters Byelaws.
In its submission, IFI has conceded that byelaws 806 and 809 were “conflicting” with the aims of trying to conserve salmon and trout on Lough Corrib.
This is thought to be the first public confirmation by IFI that its policy to date of supporting the byelaws had been misguided.
The IFI said byelaws introduced in 2006, to prohibit the wide-scale harvest of pike and coarse fish from certain waters in Ireland, was “directly in conflict” with aims of the then Central and Regional Fisheries Boards.
The byelaws were intended as a “stop-gap”, it said “but the anomaly caused by these byelaws in respect of the management and marketing of the Great Western Lakes as wild brown trout fisheries has continued for a period of time”.
The IFI said the “proposal to designate these lakes as salmonid, or wild brown trout lakes must address this inconsistency once and for all”.
IFI’s submission added: “It is evident that unless the lakes … are exempted from the provisions of the two Byelaws, the byelaw as it stands does not achieve its stated aim of protecting the wild brown trout status of the lakes.
“In fact these byelaws have resulted in fish species which have become ’naturalised’ in these lakes, afforded equal protection to the native species which have been there since the retreat of the last ice age. This is contrary to the aims of the Habitats Directive and fisheries legislation in general.”
Mr Donnellan has written to local TDs, Senators and Councillors urging them to put pressure on the Department and Minister Ryan to change the byelaws to reflect IFI’s new position, which would afford salmon and trout a higher level of protection on Lough Corrib SAC and comply with the EU Habitats Directive.
Connacht Tribune
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
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.
Connacht Tribune
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
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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Connacht Tribune
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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.
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