IRELAND

The Republic of Ireland (Eire) occupies four-fifths of the island of Ireland, second largest of the British Isles, lying just west of Great Britain.

A limestone-based lowland, rimmed by coastal uplands, its central plain contains many bogs, lakes and slow-moving rivers. Streams on the seaward side of the coastal fringe are usually short and rapid. With a cool, rainy climate, Ireland is primarily an agricultural or pastoral country with a rural aspect. Industrial development, less than that in Great Britain or on the continent, has been generally kind to its waters.

Good fish populations of Atlantic salmon and sea trout occupy most of Ireland's rivers, and provide both inland and offshore fishing. Eels also constitute a fishery resource. Its streams and lakes provide excellent angling for resident brown trout, and cyprinid and pike fishing are also important. Cold-water aquaculture is developing.

Provided that overfishing for the anadromous stocks can be curtailed, and that management can cope with the exigencies of industrial and agricultural development, the prospect is good for commercial and recreational fishing and for aquaculture.

The Republic of Ireland is situated between 51°30' and 55°30'N latitudes and 5°30' and 10°30'W longitudes. It occupies 83 percent of the island of Ireland, second largest of the British Isles.

It has a boundary of 412 km with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, along its northeastern and northern borders. Otherwise, it is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean with a coastline of about 3 200 km, separated from Great Britain to its east across the Irish Sea and St. George's Channel, but about 80 km at the narrowest point. Donegal, the northernmost extension of the Republic, is separated from Scotland by the North Channel.

The main body of the country has a length (N–S) of about 330 km and a width (E–W) of about 275 km, although it has an extreme length (SW-NE) of about 475 km. Its altitudinal range is from sea level to 1 025 m, with a central lowland averaging about 90 m. Only small areas exceed 360 m, while less than 0.25 percent top 610 m.

Essentially, Ireland is a rolling drift country, lying mainly at 60–90 m and rising gently to 120 m, and varied by a number of low hills about 180–300 m in height. Around the lowland is a discontinuous rim of coastal highlands which are mainly granitoid. These hilly or mountainous groups, rarely exceeding 900 m, more or less surround the country on the north, west and south opening more widely to the east on the Irish Sea. Major groups include: the rocky, hilly region of the extreme northwest (Donegal); some ice-worn masses in the west (Mayo and Galway); a large area in the southwest (Kerry and Cork) where parallel ribs of land separate the long narrow coastal rias or drowned river channels; some scattered groups through the south, southeast and east; and the moorlands and uplands of the Leinster Chain running south from the capital city of Dublin.

Enclosed by this girdle of highlands, most with gentle gradients, is the large central peneplain. It stretches from its northern boundary, the River Erne, through the midlands south to the Munster Blackwater Valley. Basically, limestone or karstic, the plain is covered by deposits of sand and gravel, especially in the east. This glacial drift may be 60 m thick. The River Shannon flows through this entire plain from north to south and then westward to the sea. To its west are large areas of limestone; to its east is an area of limestone and boulder clays, shallow lakes, and peat bogs. Since Ireland is somewhat saucer-shaped, it is difficult for its central rivers to wend their ways to the sea except through constant meanders. It is characterized by its “difficult” drainage: many oddly shaped lakes, both large and small, and streams flowing in all directions. It has many marshes, peat bogs, and pasture lands, and is subject to frequent flooding.

The drift-clad east coast is comparatively smooth, but the west coast is deeply penetrated by bays, fjords and rias, and in many places fringed by great sea cliffs. Wave attack is high, especially in the west, and lagoons are absent. There are many small coastal islands. The largest islands are Achill (148 km²), and the three Aran islands (47 km²), all on the west coast.

The basic rocks in Ireland's mountains very from granite to slate, sandstone and volcanic. Most soils originate from drift. Some of the older rocks weather into unproductive soil, but ice-borne drift is often limestone-bearing and fertile. In general, high saturation makes many soils acid and lacking in phosphate. High precipitation and poor drainage have made the central lowland conspicuous for its bogs, and about one-seventh of the country is covered with peat.

Ireland has always had a poor indigenous flora, impoverished because of glaciation and the early breakdown of land connection with the mainland. Oak, birch, ash, juniper and yew are among the native trees, but the dampness and acidity of many Irish soils have not been conducive to forest growth in historic times. Furthermore, there was a general deforestation between 300 and 1700 A.D. due not only to climatic conditions, but through pastoral activity and the exploitation of timber which left an almost treeless landscape. There is still comparatively little forest in Ireland today, although there has been a partial afforestation including the planting of many species of exotic conifers¹.

¹ The appearance of tree cover in Ireland is, however, deceptive due to presence of shelter-belts, copses, and even single trees

4. CLIMATE

The “mild, moist and changeable” climate of Ireland is western maritime, temperate, mild and wet, strongly affected by warm moist air from the Atlantic. Only the southeast has warm summers; the rest of the country is cool. Winds are frequent, and evaporation is low.

The mean annual temperature is 10°C. The mean summer temperature is 15.5°C, and that of the winter 4.5°C. The air temperature is almost uniform throughout the country, no part of which is more than 115 km from the sea. It is only in the high hills and low mountains that growing temperatures are limited to five or six months in the year.

There are frequent soft rains: about 178 rain-days in the southeast and 200–225 on the west coast. The annual range is from 2 000 mm in higher regions of the southwest to 750 mm in the lowlands. Downpour averages about 1 194 mm annually for the entire country. Winter precipitation is about 50 percent greater than that of the summer. Snow, which is infrequent in Ireland, may persist several weeks in the northeastern mountains, but rarely for more than a few days at lower levels.

Bright sunshine is also infrequent, e.g., in 1980, the longest mean monthly duration in May was only 6.5 hours daily, and in December only 1.2 hours or a yearly average of 3.2 hours per day.

5. HYDROGRAPHY AND LIMNOLOGY

Although most of Ireland's rivers are cut in drift and have not reached rock-floor, there is a large underground drainage system underlain by limestone and providing a high water table. Stream density is low in many of the limestone lowlands, but water from underground sources reaches the interlacing surface network of rivers and lakes which acts as the central drainage artery of the country. Widespread peat beds also hold much of the surface water as evidenced by hydrologic changes when they are drained or stripped.

The Central Statistics Office (1988) indicates that major inland waters (“certain lakes, rivers and tideways”) constitute 1 391 km² or 1.98 percent of Ireland's total area. Table 4, whose original figures probably stemmed from the same source, indicates that the extent of Ireland's inland waters is 1 390 km². McGrath (1971), probably alluding only to lakes (see section 5.2) says that 1 445.2 km² of fresh water are under the administration of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, a figure of 2.06 percent of Ireland's total area. Ireland/EIFAC (1989) on the basis of a questionnaire sent to Ireland says that there are 3 350 km² of inland water in Ireland. This is about 4.8 percent of Ireland's total area.

The approximate annual, runoff from rainfall in Ireland is 710 mm resulting in a total annual river discharge of 50 000 million m³ (Van der Leeden, 1975; ECE, 1978).

5.1 Rivers

Holden and Lloyd (1972) state that there are 11 400 km of streams in Ireland, and Piggins (1980) says there are 13 280 km of rivers. Obviously, all such estimates of stream length may be questioned, but there are undoubtedly a large number of separate drainage systems in this island country which flow in all directions, albeit often for only short distances. Thus rivers such as the Corrib and Sligo flow only a few kilometres between major lakes and their estuaries. Others, such as the Shannon, Blackwater and Suir drain large regions.

Those streams arising on the seaward side of the coastal mountain fringe are naturally short and rapid. The inland streams often flow slowly through marshes, bogs, and lakes and often enter the sea over waterfalls or rapids long distances from their sources. They have senile courses in the lowlands and are more youthful near the ocean. One feature of many Irish rivers is their tendency to expand into wide lakes (loughs) with irregular outlines. For example, almost one-half of the Shannon River above its estuary is made up of lakes. With respect to their underlying terrain, some of the rivers on granite or sandstone are fast flowing and very small. Some of the largest on the central drift and limestone plain are placid and sluggish. Lying on either side of these river channels are low-lying pastures or callows which may flood in the wet season.

The basic regime on Irish rivers is relatively simple; it follows the rainfall. The minimum flow is in late spring and early summer; the maximum is in early or late winter or from October through March. The flow of the Shannon is shown in Table 2.

With respect to water chemistry, Irish rivers can be divided into four categories:

1. those originating on or flowing through limestone. Bicarbonate alkalinity is usually high (3.0–6.5 m Eq/1) with little fluctuation; pH generally 8.0 or higher;

2. those in regions with some limestone and mixed but not abruptly changing geology. Bicarbonate alkalinity is moderate (usually 0.5–2.0 m Eq/1) with small fluctuations; pH usually between 7.0 and 8.0 and stable;

3. those on limestone but with acid-rock headwaters draining various catchments. Both bicarbonate alkalinity and pH vary widely, and

4. those weakly buffered (bicarbonate alkalinity 0.1–0.4 m Eq/1) in limestone-deficient regions with a pH rarely reaching neutral (Kennedy and Fitzmaurice, 1971).

The River Shannon, with a catchment area of 15 700 km² or over one-fifth of the country's area, is the most important element in Ireland's drainage system. With a length of 260 km, plus a 112-km estuary and about 1 800 km of tributaries, it is the longest river in the British, Isles, surpassing the length of either the Severn or Thames. It has a mean monthly flow of about 180 m³/sec. Rising at only 100 m near Donegal Bay, it flows southward through Loughs Allen, Ree and Derg. At Killaloe (at the southern end of Lough Derg), it passes through a series of rapids and then turns westward at Limerick to its long estuary leading to the Atlantic. Although the Shannon is a sluggish and partly canalized river, dropping only about 17 m in more than 160 km, it then falls more than 30 m in its last 26 km from Lough Derg to tidewater. This is the basis for its use for hydropower. It is navigable for 241 km.

There are 11 other rivers longer than 80 km, but as none of these drain more than 6 percent of the country, Ireland has a large number of separate river systems. All of these rise at a greater height than does the Shannon, one as high as 1 000 m, and are faster flowing.

Table 1 lists some of Ireland's representative rivers. A brochure of the Irish Tourist Board-Bord Failte (1979) lists 73 major rivers or river systems containing brown trout (Salmo trutta), and almost every stream in Ireland - whether brook or river - has conditions suitable for this species. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (5. trutta) also run in many Irish rivers. There are about 15 major salmon streams in Ireland and about 25 minor ones.

5.2 Lakes

Lakes (called loughs here) are numerous in Ireland, ranging from large limestone lakes noted for big brown trout to small acid lakes containing many small trout. Piggins (1980) (probably following McGrath (1971)) states that there are 1 445 km² of lakes in the Republic. Ireland/EIFAC (1989) on the basis of a questionnaire sent to Ireland states that there are only 221.26 km² in Ireland. Obviously, this figure is subject to question.

Table 1

Some representative rivers of Ireland

Source: Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World (1966), Orme (1970), Irish Tourist Board-Bord Failte (1979)

Table 2

Discharge of the River Shannon, Ireland, 1935–65

Source: Van der Leeden (1975) after Unesco, 1971

Many of the small lakes, such as those in the central lowland, are simply situated in depressions in glacial drift or in ice-scoured rock hollows (e.g., corrie lakes). Some of the larger lakes are situated in broad limestone basins of debatable age and origin. Included here are Loughs: Ree, Sheelin, Derravaragh, Owel and Ennell. Others, sited mainly in limestone but lapping against non-calcareous rocks are Loughs: Corrib (the largest lake in Ireland), Derg, Mask, Conn, Erne and Leane. These latter lake basins have been termed “solution lakes”, their origin being attributed mainly to the solvent action of a river to deepen its bed through surface solution of limestone. However, recent studies (e.g., Williams, 1970) indicate that this theory cannot be accepted unanimously. For example, the great depth of Lough Corrib (46 m) and Mask (58 m) indicates glacial scouring, and Lough Derg appears to be an icehollowed basin. One lake, Lough Achree, called the “youngest” lake in Ireland, was formed by an earthquake in 1490.

In addition to its permanent lakes, Ireland has a number of intermittent turloughs unconnected by surface chains. These hollows, filled with water at times and dry at other periods, are dependent upon underground drainage fluctuations and subsidence of limestone.

Most of the big Irish lakes are shallow, open and exposed to wind. Although smaller ones may have a greater depth-surface area ratio, they are generally at higher altitudes (where cool temperatures and wind prevail) or are supplied by river or spring water. There is, therefore, little thermal stratification in Irish lakes. They are essentially orthograde with respect to temperature, and in general are well oxygenated at all depths even when highly productive.

The pH of the lakes varies from about 5.0 in upland lakes on granite surrounded by bog to about 8.5 in large limestone lakes. The bicarbonate alkalinity varies from about 0.2 in sandstone and granite to 4.6 m Eq/1 in some limestone lakes. Those lakes with a bicarbonate alkalinity of more than 2.0 m Eq/1 are the most productive of the Irish waters. (Kennedy and Fitzmaurice, 1971.)

As with the streams, nearly every Irish lake with access to the sea contains at least some brown trout, and salmon and sea trout are also found in some lakes, the latter mainly in acid lakes. The fastest growing trout are found in the clear high pH limestone lakes of the central plain. A few lakes hold the introduced rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and some are good coarse fish waters.

A list of some of the representative lakes in Ireland is provided by Table 3.

5.3 Reservoirs

There are a limited number of reservoirs in the Republic of Ireland, established primarily to produce hydroelectric power. Among these (their drainage basin is shown in parentheses) are: Poulaphouca Reservoir (Liffey), Leixlip Reservoir (Liffey), Bohernabreena (Dodder), Wexford (Slaney), Lee Reservoir (Lee), and Erne (Erne). Ireland/EIFAC (1989) on the basis of a questionnaire sent to Ireland states that the total reservoir area there is 38.04 km².

Most water service supply in the Republic (and also in Northern Ireland) is directly from lake or stream, and most of their reservoirs carry only a few days supply of water.

There is fishing in some reservoirs, but it is surpassed by that in the natural lakes.

5.4 Canals

Although there was a considerable development of canals in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century, their demise was hastened by the advent of railway transport and road building. All of the Irish inland waterways are now officially closed to commercial transport, although portions of the Shannon-Grand Canal are open to tourist traffic.

The two principal canals are the Royal, connecting the Shannon above Lough Ree to Dublin, and the Grand, connecting the Shannon between Loughs Ree and Derg with Dublin. The Barrow Navigation joins the Grand Canal to the Barrow.

The canals hold good stocks of coarse fishes, especially cyprinids, which are generally found in pockets.

Table 3

Some representative large lakes (loughs) in Ireland

^a Areas rounded

Source: Primarily from Flanagan and Toner (1975)

6. LAND AND WATER USE

Table 4

Pattern of land use in Ireland, 1986

Source: 1987 FAO Production Yearbook, 41 (Publ. 1988)

The damp climate, lowland bogs, peat water, infertile mountains, and poorly drained lowland soils all menace Irish agriculture. Nevertheless, Ireland is predominantly an agricultural country, and although its economy is now about 59 percent urban and 41 percent rural, its general aspect is still rural. Furthermore, the virtual absence of important deposits of coal and most mineral resources has generally meant that its industry is still largely based on agriculture.

In Ireland, with its more than 200 000 family farms, farming is a mixed economy, with some arable land where cereals, potatoes, sugar beets, and vegetables are the major crops. The climate is, however, more favourable to the growth of grassland than to arable farming, and stock raising based on grass pasture is predominant. Climatic conditions preclude a need for irrigation, but drainage and flood prevention are major agricultural concerns.¹ The use of chemical fertilizers is relatively low.

¹ Statistics on irrigation in Ireland are not listed in FAO (1988)

With the exception of Iceland, Ireland is the least forested country in Europe; its forest production ranks about twenty-third among its nations. There is an afforestation programme, however, based primarily on introduced conifers, and production has increased in recent years. Investigation of the effects of this afforestation on fisheries, with respect to changes in water chemistry and food production, is in progress.

Mineral wealth is slight, but the extraction of sand, gravel, and peat is changing the shape of the land. Aside from these resources, there is some building stone, a little coal, of late years a working of silver, copper, lead and zinc deposits, and a little offshore oil. The use of milled peat for use as home fuel, in briquetting plants, and in thermal power stations (see below) has exposed large bog surfaces to erosion by wind and water. This means that considerable quantities of peat particles have found their way into streams with detrimental effects on fisheries. Most of the deep raised bogs will have been cut away by the year 2000, and the total peat resources are expected to be gone in about 80 years. Peat areas are being replanted with exotic conifers.

Many peat-fired thermal power stations have been introduced to Ireland since 1950. Other thermal power depends upon coal, natural gas, and imported fuel. Most of the hydroelectric power is derived from the lower Shannon where there is a large drop between Lough Derg and the river's estuary. Other hydro plants are found on the Lee, Liffey, Erne and Clady/Crolly, and there has recently been interest in the generation of electricity by small water turbines especially at old mill sites. In 1987, Ireland's installed capacity for electrical production was 3 880 000 kW. Almost 87 percent of this is thermal and 13 percent (512 000 kW) is hydroelectric. Hydroelectric production has impeded the runs of anadromous fish despite installation of fish passages (see sections 7 and 9). Meanwhile, Ireland has almost reached the limit of economical use of water and native fuels for power production.

Industry, largely based on agriculture, and now even surpassing it, includes sugar beet factories, tanneries, creameries, breweries, textile factories, and meat processing. Metals and engineering are also important. There has been an effort to encourage dissemination of industries to revitalize the entire country, but industry is still largely concentrated, e.g., in Dublin, Cork and Waterford.

The marine fishery, basically a near-water fishery, is growing in importance, and is of special value to the less developed (western) areas of the country. Per caput consumption of fish is low, only 11.1 kg in 1986. The inland fisheries are of both commercial and recreational value (see section 7).

Ireland has quite a good system of railways (about 3 000 km) and roads. Its 92 303 km of auto roads had a density of 1.3 km/km² in 1986, just a little less than that of the UK. Passenger car ownership is about 184 per thousand people (1985). Ireland has a number of good seaports, the major ones are Dublin and Cork (Cobh) with secondary ones in Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda and New Ross. The canals, no longer of importance for commercial shipping, are now being used for recreational travel and angling.

Underground water is plentiful in Ireland, minimizing the need for surface abstractions for domestic use. Mainstream hydroelectric plants also maintain water in the rivers. However, many arterial drainage projects have been implemented during the last 40 years. Although these may prevent flooding and improve the flow in rivers, they may also lower levels in lakes, create weed and silt problems, destroy spawning grounds, and canalize streams. A decline in the Boyne's commercial catch of salmon has been largely attributed to arterial change.

Water use for the disposal of domestic, agricultural or industrial waste, has been minimized in Ireland until recently. Today, a major cause of pollution is the disposal of agricultural wastes. A comparison of the fish kills reported during the 1969–74 and the 1980–87 periods made by McCarthy (1988) showed that while the number caused by sewage and industrial wastes did not change significantly, the damage from agricultural wastes had risen at an alarming rate. For example, effluents from agriculture and agriculture-based industries accounted for 97 of the 122 reported fish kills in 1987. In 1988, when the situation was far better (only 50 reported fish kills), agriculture wastes (runoff from silage and slurry or manure) still caused the majority of kills (McCarthy and Moriarty, 1989). See section 9.2 for additional discussion of water pollution in Ireland.

Tourism is Ireland's second largest industry (almost 9.9 million foreign tourists in 1986). The abundance of good fishing water for desirable sport species is a distinct part of its attraction.

7. FISH AND FISHERIES

Ireland has exceptional sport fishery resources for both anadromous and resident fish, as well as good commercial resources for diadromous fishes. However, it has a limited native inland fish fauna as compared to that of the European continent or even its neighbouring isle, Great Britain. For example, such widely distributed fish as the grayling (Thymallus thymallus), barbel (Barbua barbus), and chub (Leuciscus cephalus) are not present. Excluding the char (Salvelinus spp.) and whitefish (Coregonus spp.) of Great Britain, there are ten species of purely freshwater fishes absent from Ireland although present in Great Britain (Went, 1946; Maitland, 1972), and according to Orme (1970), of about 16 species of strictly British freshwater fishes, only about 8 reached Ireland.

Opinions differ somewhat on exactly which species of inland fish are native to Ireland. Fitzmaurice (1984) says that the freshwater fish fauna of Ireland consists of only 20 species, and that after the last Ice Age (about 15 000 B.C.), the indigenous species probably consisted of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), brown trout and sea trout (S. trutta), char (Salvelinus alpinus), pollan (Coregonus albula), European eel (Anguilla anguilla), Twaite shad (Alosa fallax) and possibly the stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and ten-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius). He believes that it is more than likely that the other species which today complete the Irish freshwater list were introduced after the Twelfth Century. There appears to be general agreement that among the resident species definitely introduced to Ireland are: rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), pike (Esox lucius), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), roach (Rutilus rutilus), and tench (Tinca tinca). There is some doubt as to the position of the minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) and European perch (Perca fluviatilis) according to Went (1980). Bream (Abramis brama) and rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) are also found in Ireland. In addition to these, lampreys (Petromyzonidae), grey mullets (Mugil spp.) and the occasional sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) can be found in some Irish rivers. The relative importance of the major inland fishes used for food or sport in Ireland will be reviewed in sections 7.1 and 7.2.

In addition to finfish, Austropotamobius pallipes, the only crayfish indigenous to the British Isles is widely distributed in Ireland. Although lacking in the larger lakes, many acid coastal streams, and most of the sandstone rivers, it is generally abundant.

7.1 Capture Fisheries

Since the Middle Ages, Atlantic salmon have played a major role in Ireland's economy where they still constitute one of the world's premier salmon fisheries¹. In fact, “Ireland is one of the few lands where the resource has increased rather than decreased in the Twentieth Century” (Netboy, 1974). Factors favourable to salmon sustenance in Ireland include: drastic reduction in fixed gear after 1863, the relative absence of industrial pollution common to several other salmon countries, and provision of fish passage and stocking hand-in-hand with dam construction.

¹ Other pre-eminent Atlantic salmon fisheries are those of: Canada, Iceland, Norway and Scotland. Piggins (1980) states that: “The total catches of salmon (in Ireland) have equalled or surpassed those of Scotland and Norway and over 95 percent of the catch is taken by commercial methods”

Salmon enter almost every Irish river. Among the finest are the: Munster Blackwater, Boyne, Suir, Nore, Bandon, Barrow, Liffey, Slaney and parts of the Shannon. In Ireland, most smolts are two-year olds and grilse form 80–90 percent of the stocks in some rivers. A spring run brings large fish up most of the coastal rivers, followed by a preponderance of grilse in a summer run. Spring-run salmon may average 3.6–5.4 kg depending on the river, and summer-run fish average about 2.7 kg. In 1986, the average weight of a rod-caught salmon in Ireland was 3.43 kg, about half a kilogram higher than the average weight of a commercially-caught salmon. The record Irish salmon, weighing 25.8 kg was caught in the Suir in 1874. In 1986 the total recorded catch in Ireland of salmon and grilse totalled 539 000 fish weighing 1 655 t with a value of £Ir 5.46 million.

Sea trout are associated with salmon both as a by-catch of commercial fishing and as a sport fish. The shorter coastal streams and acid coastal lakes, especially along the west and south coasts, provide most of the angling for this fish. The specimen weight is 2.7 kg.

The FAO Yearbook of Fishery Statistics (see, for example, Vol.64, page 105) does not list commercial catch statistics for the inland waters of Ireland, except for a curious 554 t in 1985 which seem to be cultivated rainbow trout, although it does list catches by Ireland of trouts, Atlantic salmon, and European eel for Marine Statistical District No. 27, the Northeast Atlantic. Comparison of these figures during the 1965–86 period with the figures listed by Ireland in its Fisheries Reports shows many differences¹. Obviously, FAO has: confused Ireland's freshwater catch with marine catch; at least in some years has included the sport fishing (rod) catch for salmon and sea trout with the commercial catch (e.g., in 1977), and, although Ireland's primary fishery for eels is that for fish in inland waters, has placed its eel catch in a marine district.

¹ “Inland fisheries” in Ireland are those for salmon, trout, eels and coarse fish (see, for example, the Republic's “Sea and Inland Fisheries Report for 1980”, p. 22)

I have, therefore, not reproduced any of the FAO Statistics for the commercial catches of salmon, sea trout, and eels in Ireland. Instead the catches for the 1965–86 period have been listed from reports emanating directly from Ireland (see Table 5). The catch of salmon and sea trout in Ireland for the years 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985 has also been broken down to show the quantity of fish taken by each type of gear, whether commercial or sport (Tables 6 and 7).

7.1.1 Commercial fishing

Catches of the principal commercially taken inland fish of Ireland are shown in Tables 5–7. The tables, sensu strictu, do not include the catch from the Foyle Fishery which the Republic of Ireland shares with Northern Ireland (UK). See section 7.1 of the review of the UK for a discussion of the Foyle area.

In 1986, the commercial catch of Atlantic salmon was valued at £Ir 5.24 million, in 1980 it was valued at £Ir 3 090 663. The commercial catch of sea trout in 1985 was valued at £Ir 21 226, in 1980 it was valued at £Ir 170 143.

Drift nets took by far the greatest weight of salmon and grilse. Speaking more generally of Ireland's commercial salmon catch, Piggins (1980) wrote: “Drift netting at sea in public fisheries accounts for about 75 percent of the catch and about half of the estuarine catch is taken in public fisheries”. In 1986 drift nets accounted for 88 percent of the Irish commercial catch of salmon, followed by 9 percent taken by draft nets and about 3 percent for other commercial methods.

With respect to sea trout, drift nets accounted for only 43 percent of the total commercial catch in 1986, as against 53 percent for draft nets and about 4 percent for other commercial gear. Little commercial fishing is performed specifically for sea trout; most of its commercial catch is made as a by-catch of salmon fishing. In fact, the rod catch of sea trout often exceeds the commercial catch (see section 7.1.2). Irish authorities feel, however, that the reported catch is badly underestimated.

The eel fishery in the Republic of Ireland is a rather small one with concentrations in the Shannon (Limerick) and Galway districts. The major fishery is based on the capture of silver eels as they migrate to the sea in autumn and early winter, and to a lesser extent on the capture of yellow eels in lakes. The catch has varied widely, e.g., 50 t in 1972 and almost 315 t in 1986². However, illegal fishing has now developed to such a large scale that estimates of eel catch have become very difficult and the Government has decided to make an estimate of 250 t per year, knowing that a catch of that order is made (personal communication from Dr C. Moriarty, 4 April 1990). The most productive fishing methods are longlines, grid traps and weirs. There were 65 eel fishing authorizations in Ireland in 1986. The eel fishery of 1985 was valued at £Ir 371 505.

² Ireland/EIFAC (1989) on the basis of a questionnaire sent to Ireland states that the eel catch in Ireland is 145.34 t annually. Obviously the respondent used the figure for 1982 (cf Table 5)

In 1986, exclusive of persons engaged in the marketing and transport of fish, a total of 5 813 people had full or part-time employment in Irish inland fisheries. This figure included 4 144 persons estimated as engaged in netting for salmon, 220 engaged in eel fishing, 349 employed by Central and Regional Fisheries Boards on protection and development of fisheries, 650 engaged in netting and protection work in the Foyle area, 450 in the provision of ancillary services for inland fisheries, and the rest employed by proprietors of commercial and sport fisheries.

7.1.2 Sport fishing

Ireland has exceptional low-cost sport fishing resources for both resident and anadromous fishes. Permits can be obtained from several sources and some fishing is free.

Table 5

Nominal commercial catches by species of eel, Atlantic salmon and sea trout in Ireland, 1965–88^{a b}(in tons)

^a Figures for 1965–72 recalculated (and rounded) from original measure in pounds

^b Catches from the Foyle Fishery, shared by the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (UK), are not included in the table. In 1984, its commercial catch of salmon totalled 84.7 t and in 1985 it totalled 135.9 t, and in 1986 it totalled 153.2 t.

... Not obtained

The best salmon waters are strictly preserved, but boats can often be hired at moderate (for salmon fishing) prices, and there is still quite a bit of free fishing for salmon or waters open to hotel visitors. There is also considerable free fishing for sea trout, although most of the angling is under private or club control. Licences are required to fish for both species.

Tables 6 and 7 show the rod catch for these species in recent years. Ireland's sport catch of Atlantic salmon is not a large part of its entire salmon catch. For example, it constituted only 4 percent of the total catch of salmon in 1986 and only about 8 percent in 1988 by either number or weight. Nevertheless, the recorded salmon sport catch of 1986 was considered to have a value of £Ir 220 324. Conversely, the bulk of Ireland's sea trout catch in recent years has been made by the sport fishery. For example, either by number (24 769 individuals) or weight (15.3 t) in 1986, about 70 percent of the catch was made by sport fishermen, and had an estimated value of £Ir 50 629. It is believed that the official rod catch of salmon is underestimated. In 1970, an independent survey by the Economics and Social Research Institute estimated the rod catch to be 9 percent of the total catch compared with the official figure of (then) 3.9 percent. It has also been estimated that the expenditures by anglers in 1970 constituted 42 percent of the gross output of the salmon fishing industry, the balance being the value of the commercial catch (Piggins, 1980).

The most popular fishing in Ireland is for brown trout which are generally numerous. The largest trout are taken from the rich limestone waters of the central lowland, but the species is found in most fresh waters of the country, whether limestone or acid.

Table 6

Quantity of Atlantic salmon taken in Ireland by various types of gear, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985^a

^a Catches from the Foyle Fishery, shared by the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (UK) are not included in the table. In 1985 the total commercial catch of salmon in the Foyle Fishery amounted to 135 809 kg or 40 521 fish. In 1980 it was 145 776 kg or 49 223 fish. The total rod catch of salmon in the Foyle Fishery in 1985 amounted to 1 814 fish, in 1980 it was 1 134 fish

Char (Salvelinus alpinus) are relatively scarce fish in Irish waters, although fair numbers are reported from Loughs Conn and Corrib, and they can be fished for in a number of still waters. Rainbow trout, the major commercially reared fish in Ireland, are now also stocked for angling in about 20 lakes and ponds. There is little natural spawning of this species in Ireland; Lough Shure in Aranmore is an exception.

Coarse fishing has become popular and attracts many visitors from the UK. The most abundant coarse fish for angling are: pike, perch, bream, roach and rudd. Common carp and tench are unevenly distributed. Roach, apparently introduced in 1889 into the Munster Blackwater and once found only there, have now spread to other drainages, and there was another introduction of roach in the Foyle where it is said to have eliminated the rudd (Went, 1980). It is now a common species over most of the more productive waters. There is no closed season for coarse fishing, and most of the fishing is free. In 1986, a daily limit was placed upon pike, the first time in Ireland that a limit had been placed on a “coarse” fish species. The former Inland Fisheries Trust was instrumental in developing coarse fisheries, including the provision of over 18 000 fishing stands by 1980. Some stocking of carp for angling is practiced.

Despite the rise in coarse fishing, brown trout still hold the widest interest for anglers. Measures to promote its fishery include the installation of seasons, and size-limits, artificial stocking, and habitat improvement. Predators (pike) and competitors (perch and roach) are sometimes removed from brown trout waters.

Table 7

Quantity of sea trout taken in Ireland by various types of gear, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985^a

^a Catches from the Foyle Fishery, shared by the Republic of Ireland and northern Ireland (UK) are not included in the table. In 1985 the total number of rod-caught sea trout in the Foyle Fishery was 4 838 fish, and in 1980 it was 3 276

All legal rod and line methods are generally allowed for angling, but a number of waters have “fly only” regulations. Furthermore, the use of live fish as bait is prohibited in Ireland, as is the transfer of live fish from one water to another without a special permit.

In 1962 there were considered to be 27 000 sport fishermen in Ireland: 18 000 brown trout anglers, 7 000 salmon anglers, and 2 000 coarse fish anglers. This would represent only about 0.94 percent of the total population at the time. By 1974, the total number of sport fishermen in Ireland had risen to about 63 000 or about 1.7 percent of the total population. In 1986, the total number of licences of all kinds issued for angling for salmon and sea trout in Ireland totalled 16 062. (Several types of licences may be issued so this figure does not equal the number of salmon and sea trout anglers.) Circa 1989, Ireland/EIFAC (1989) estimated the number of sport fishermen in Ireland as follows: 62 800 “game” (salmonid), 15 800 “coarse” (all other freshwater species), 43 600 marine.

7.2 Aquaculture

As for several other countries, statistics on aquacultural production in Ireland vary decidedly, depending upon the source (see, for example, under section 7.2, Denmark and the Federal Republic of Germany). Table 8, even if somewhat confusing, is therefore presented to illustrate some of these differences. All figures are taken from sources which might be considered as standard or which have received their information from standard sources. Differences in annual production figures resulting from rounding of figures are self-explanatory. Some may have resulted from the lumping of freshwater and seawater-raised fish. Some may have simply perpetuated the errors of estimates of others. Those emanating directly from Irish Governmental sources are considered to be the most accurate.

Commercial aquaculture in Ireland began with the cultivation of rainbow trout circa 1960. In that year, only 8½ t were produced, but (following Governmental statistics) the production was 111.1 t by 1971, almost doubling by 1974 to 206.8 t. In 1980, the production of farmed rainbow trout was 269 t, and the sea-cage yield of rainbow trout from six units was 133 t. According to Fish Farming International (Vol. 11(7)), Ireland's freshwater trout farm production was 550 t in 1983, and by 1987 it was still only 600 t (Aquaculture Ireland No. 38). Trout production did rise to 1 100 t in 1988, but then fell to 645 t in 1989 (FES, 1989). The drop was due in part to a corresponding rise in cultivated salmon production (see below).

Most of the freshwater trout farms in Ireland lie in the east and southeast. Interest in their establishment is in part due to eligibility programmes for grants under farm modernization schemes. Typically, an Irish trout farm uses river water rather than spring water. Concrete and earthern ponds are used, and fish are fed on artificial pellets. Cages have also been used in deep loughs, and there is also some sea-cage culture. Most of the fish are exported to Britain which uses 170–200 g fish. With good fishing available in many natural waters in Ireland, there is no real demand for fee fish-out ponds as in some countries.

Aquaculture Ireland No. 38 lists 320 t of sea trout produced in Ireland through aquaculture in 1987. Major developments in salmon culture for table fish took place in Ireland in the 1980s. Production in sea cages rose from 21 t in 1980 to 1 215 t in 1986, and the total commercial aquacultural production of salmon in Ireland continued to rise from 4 900 t in 1988 to 9 200 t in 1989 (FES, 1989). FAO Fish.Info.Data and Stat.Serv. (1989) agrees generally with these estimates. Most of the salmon that are reared mature at one year and are slaughtered before reaching maximum size. The value of farmed salmon in 1986 was £Ir 4.5 million, an increase of 44 percent over the 1985 figure.

By 1986, there were 14 freshwater trout farms, 24 for farming salmonids at sea, and 21 smolt rearing units in Ireland (Ireland/EIFAC, 1989).

In addition to commercial aquaculture in Ireland, brown and rainbow trout are raised for stocking open waters, and some carp have been raised to restock coarse fish waters. Atlantic salmon are also reared and stocked for the capture fisheries. For example, in 1986, the total production of ova was 3.2 million salmon and 2.8 million brown trout. Although a considerable number of ova and small fish are stocked, there is also a stocking of larger fish, including yearlings and smolts. At present, there are smolt-rearing stations in Ireland on the: Lee, Shannon, Erne, Burrishoole system, Boyne, Upper Lough Corrib and Scrube. In addition, many smolt-rearing stations are being established for the aquaculture industry.

The contribution of hatchery-reared salmon smolts to the Irish commercial salmon catch during a six-year study (1975–86) varied from 1.6 to 12 percent of the catch (Department of Fisheries and Forestry, 1980). In a study made in 1985, hatchery fish composed from 1.3 to 11.5 percent of the adult commercial samon catch (Department of the Marine, 1985).

Table 8

Production of cultivated trout in Ireland, 1960, 1975, 1980–89 (in tons)^a

^a Apparently all freshwater production unless otherwise indicated

^b Agrees with Lewis (1981)

sw - sea water

8. OWNERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT AND INVESTIGATION ¹

8.1 Ownership and Availability

In the eyes of the law, all fisheries in fresh waters are deemed to be exclusive. Rivers usually belong to the owner of the land alongside or over which the waters flow. In many cases the fishing rights of former landowners have been retained after land has been sold. These rights include much of the best salmon angling. In some of these cases the fishing rights have been acquired by the State. In some instances, however, a state of de facto free fishing may prevail through failure of the presumed owner to preserve his rights. Open or “free” fishing rights are found on some lakes, the upper courses of large rivers, and on some smaller rivers. In tidal waters, the general presumption is in favour of the public right save where exclusive rights of fisheries are upheld by virtue of documentary title or immemorial usage.

8.2 Administration and Management

(i) The Department of the Marine, through its Inland Fisheries, Sea Fisheries and Aquaculture Divisions is responsible for the general administration of both sea and inland fisheries.

(ii) Local Administration. Under the Fisheries Act, 1986, the 17 former Boards of Conservators and the Inland Fisheries Trust, Inc., were dissolved, and replaced by a Central Fisheries Board and 7 Regional Fisheries Boards. Each Regional Board is a statutory body, answerable to the Minister of the Marine with whom final responsibility for inland fisheries resides. The Boards are responsible for conservation and development of every aspect of the fisheries within the Board's designated region, including the development of angling. They are empowered to collect fishery rates and issue licences. Members of these Boards comprise those elected by an electorate composed of holders of fishing licences, fishery rate-payers, and persons registered in a Register of Trout, Coarse Fish and Sea Anglers, and those appointed by the Minister for the Marine.

The Central Board coordinates and directs the work of the Regional bodies, and is also empowered to carry out such research work as it considers necessary for the performance of its functions.

(iii) Financing and Licensing. The Minister will pay grants to the Central Board out of moneys provided by the Parliament, and out of the Salmon Conservancy Funds (fed mainly by Exchequer subvention). The Central Board will pay grants to the Regional boards. Rates are struck on fishery herediments. All commercial forms of fishing, such as weirs, draft nets, and drift nets for salmon, are required to be licensed. All angling in inland waters has to be licensed.

8.3 Investigation

(i) The Department of the Marine provides research and advisory services, e.g., in the field of fishery biology and engineering. A Fisheries Research Centre is its advisory arm. In addition, a Fish Pathology Unit was established in the Department in 1980.

(ii) The Salmon Research Trust of Ireland, Inc. (sponsored by Arthur Guinness and Sons, P.L.C., and the Minister for the Marine, and incorporated in 1955) conducts scientific and field research to improve, develop and extend salmon and sea trout fisheries in Ireland.

(iii) The science and engineering faculties of the universities (colleges at Dublin, Cork and Galway) take an interest in fishery work. The Electricity Supply Board, an extensive owner of fisheries, has undertaken experimental work in consultation with the Fisheries Division.

8.4 Other Concerned Agencies

(i) The Foyle Fisheries Commission, formerly the Moville Fishery District, originally established in 1952 to provide for the management, protection, and improvement of fisheries in the Foyle area, administers the Foyle Catchment which is situated in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (UK). The Commission consists of representatives of the Republic's Department of the Marine and the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland (DANI).

(ii) Under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act of 1977, which provides for the control of water pollution and other matters concerned with such pollution, responsibility for implementation of the Act rests with the Minister for the Environment and the local authorities under the aegis of that Minister. Under the Act, the Minister for the Marine and the Regional Fisheries Boards have both consultative and enforcement roles in its implementation. The Fisheries Acts, 1959–80, administered by the Minister for the Marine, also prohibit, except under and in accordance with a licence granted by the Minister, the entry or discharge into any waters of deleterious matter (including any explosive, liquid or gas), which is liable to render those waters poisonous or injurious to fish, spawning grounds, or the food of any fish.

(iii) There are numerous non-statutory angling associations in Ireland whose activities include: conservation, protection and improvement of the waters under their control.

¹ Based largely on material from Ireland sent to EIFAC in 1979, Power (1978), O'Connell (1982), and Ireland/EIFAC (1989)

9. STATE OF THE FISHERY

9.1 Yield

Easily available gross catch statistics do not permit an evaluation of the state of the salmon or sea trout fisheries. Table 5 shows a peak annual commercial catch of salmon of 2 136.1 t in 1975 and a low of 614.3 t in 1981, and for sea trout a high of 44.8 t in 1975, an extreme low of 7.7 t in 1981 and a another low figure of 7.9 t in 1988.¹ However, many factors (such as bad weather for fishing, especially with drift nets) survival of smolts at sea, etc. may have an effect on the harvest of these fish. The Department of Fisheries and Forestry (1980) (a predecesor of the Department of the Marine) stated that the “catch per licensed fishing engine…is the only guide available at present for measuring the long-term trends in the salmon fishery…because the fishing effort exerted by such engines is almost constant from year to year”. Between 1974 and 1980 the average number of salmon caught per fixed engine unit varied from a high of 483 in 1975 to a low of 179 in 1979, but with an increase to 338 in 1980. The Department offered the cautious hope that the present stock of salmon was improving.

¹ The total catch of Atlantic salmon in Ireland of 2 188.3 t in 1975 was the highest catch of salmon between 1927 (when collection of these statistics began) and 1986

The Irish eel fishery has maintained its output in recent years. In spite of a period of poor elver runs in the 1980s, storks are now high and expansion of the fishery is proposed.

Yields per unit area of various Irish waters have not been collected by the author; some of them must be very high. Yields in the Foyle catchment shared by the Republic and Northern Ireland are cited in section 9.1 of the review for the UK.

9.2 Factors Affecting the Fishery

Ireland has abundant water resources in relation to its size, population, and present economic trends². Furthermore, its interlacing system of rivers and lakes distributes the water, and hence its fishing, throughout the country. It has a variety of streams, both small fast-running ones and large slow-moving rivers. Its numerous lakes include some of large size and high productivity.

² Such a condition is, of course, very favourable for Ireland's inland fisheries. However, opinions differ, thus Common (1970) speaks of “an overendowment of surface waters” in Ireland to the detriment of its agriculture and forestry

The native fish fauna of anadromous salmon (which enters most of the Irish rivers) and sea trout, and abundant populations of resident brown trout provide excellent game fishing. In addition, there is a good variety of coarse fishes. Although the total number of species is not large, most of its components are considered desirable either for food or sport, and the Irish authorities have resisted the introduction of others.

The soil, terrain, climate and growing season are all generally favourable for the development of fish, especially salmonids.

Unlike the situation in some of the warmer and drier countries where heavy demands are made for water abstraction or in some of the heavily industrialized countries where barriers to fish migration and water pollution have diminished stocks, Ireland's land and water uses have been generally favourable for its inland fisheries. Dry years have demonstrated the vulnerability of streams to abstraction, but its practice is still relatively small in Ireland and its impact on fisheries kept under scrating, and the presence of good supplies of ground water has kept surface water abundant. Arterial drainage has, however, been deleterious to the fisheries, and close attention is now being given to minimize its adverse effects. Mainstream hydroelectric development (as on the Shannon) has also interfered with the migration of both anadromous fishes and eels despite the installation of methods of fish passage. The intakes at thermal power stations have also been considered as traps for migrants.

The average annual runoff per caput is 13 011 m³, a volume which provides a considerable dilution of effluent discharges. Such a factor, coupled with frequent high rainfalls to maintain flow, serves to minimize water pollution. Nevertheless, the use of pesticides, and enrichment of waters from land drainage, high fertilizer concentrations, and intensive livestock rearing is increasing Ireland's pollution problems. Discharges from creameries and processing plants, and from the working of one deposits augment these problems. Increased sewerage also adds to the effluent, but population distribution (a preponderance lives on the coast) minimizes interior river pollution since most of the domestic wastes are discharged into estuaries or coastal waters. Industrial discharges however, occur mainly in interior waters, and are in excess of the combined domestic and agricultural discharge. No pollution appeared to exist in the form of acid rain (1983). In 1972, nine percent of Ireland's rivers were considered to be polluted to varying degrees and 20 km had been rendered fishless (Holden and Lloyd, 1972), but in 1983 it was calculated that only 2 percent of Ireland's main rivers could be classified in “doubtful” or “bad” condition (An Foras Forbartha, 1983).

During the 1982–84 period, a national survey of 6 928 km of rivers showed that 2 percent of the total length surveyed were seriously polluted, 13.8 percent were slightly to moderately polluted, and 84.2 percent were unpolluted. Of 39 lakes classified in accordance with their trophic status, 5 were found to be hyper-eutrophic, 19 were eutrophic, and 15 were meso- or aligotrophic (Anon./Ireland, 1984). Some of the lake eutrophication caused by intensive pig-rearing operations since 1971 has been corrected; e.g., since 1980 excess pig slurry has been transported out of the Lough Sheelin catchment with the result that the lake has almost been restored to its pristine quality. Removal of phosphate from sewage plant effluent has similarly improved conditions in Lough Ennell.

Since 1977, the legislative position for pollution control has improved with the introduction of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act (see section 8.4).

The problems of Ireland's anadromous fisheries are, of course, aggravated by the land and water uses mentioned above. Furthermore, there has been a considerable opinion that the somewhat controversial disease called UDN (ulcerative dermal necrosis) has caused a decline in stocks of salmon and sea trout¹. Nevertheless, there seems to be a consensus that the major factor affecting the Irish stocks (especially salmon) is overexploitation, particularly by the drift net fishery. See, for example, Table 6 which shows a rise in the salmon catch by the drift net fishery from 360 930 kg in 1965 to 1 482 257 kg in 1975 or four times as much in ten years. Meanwhile, the catch by other commercial methods remained about the same, and the sport catch declined by over one-third. In 1962, there were only 363 drift net licences in Ireland. They then increased three-fold to 1 156 in 1972. During the same ten years, the drift net catch of salmon increased from 21 percent of the total in 1962 to 64 percent in 1972. By 1980, when catch records showed a definite decline, drift nets were taking 72 percent of the Irish salmon catch. The length and depth of drift nets have been limited, there has been imposition of an annual season and a weekly close time, and restrictions on the number of commercial licences, but evidence of a decline in stocks continues. It must be emphasized that illegal fishing has been blamed for much of this decline, and measures taken to combat it. In 1978, the proportion of illegally caught salmon which were marketed was estimated as from 20 to 50 percent of the total (Piggins, 1980a).

¹ UDN first made its appearance in Irish salmon streams in 1964. Among measures to offset its effect, has been the importation into Ireland of salmonoid ova from other countries, e.g., during the 1969/70 season, salmon ova from Iceland and Sweden and sea trout ova from Iceland and Poland were imported, and in 1970/71, salmon ova from Norway and Scotland and sea trout ova from Scotland were imported to restock Irish rivers (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1970, 1971). Obviously, such changes in the genetic constitution of Irish stocks may affect the populations. In passing, it may also be noted that both salmon and trout have been imported from other countries to facilitate the development of fish farming. For example, 300 000 salmon smolts were imported in 1986

Easy access to good angling waters and a tradition of fishing promotes a growing use of waters for sport fishing, and angling brings in a considerable revenue from foreign tourists. The management of waters for sport fishing has been decidedly improved in recent years.

The history of commercial fish culture in Ireland is a very short one, limited to the rearing of salmonids, and these primarily for export rather than home consumption. The growing use of sea water is an important step forward.

With only one other country as an occupant of the island of Ireland, the Republic is directly concerned with international water or inland fishery problems only in the Foyle Catchment area managed jointly with Northern Ireland (UK), the Erne and Drowes Catchments and a number of smaller rivers.

In addition to the built-in physiographic, climatic and faunal factors, and the country's land and water use, Ireland's political policies have influenced the inland fisheries. Thus the provision of governmental grants, with emphasis on acquisition and improvement of boats and gear, has increased the catch of salmon along the north, west and south coasts. Drift netting for salmon has considerable socio-economic values for low income families along these coasts, but the increase in this fishery has caused a decline in estuarine and river fisheries (Piggins, 1980).

9.3 Prospect

Because of a general (and indeed, well-founded) belief in Ireland that its water resources are plentiful, the use of these resources may have proceeded without much thought of the overall results. That day is over. Sustained yield from the valuable salmon and sea trout fisheries will depend upon careful attention to the effects of any new type of land and water development. Attention must be given to provision of sufficient supplies of water of good quality, as well as continued vigilance with respect to installation and maintenance of facilities for fish passage, protection of spawning and nursery grounds, and the other measures generally taken to maintain anadromous fisheries. The latter include regulation of catch, particularly the Irish drift net fishery. In any event, the sea trout fishery is likely to expand.

The future of the eel fishery also depends upon measures for sustaining migration, as well as the stocking of elvers in upstream waters which they do reach naturally. It has been estimated that the present annual harvest of eels could be increased to 1 500 t by the annual transplantation of 13 t of an O-group of elvers (Moriarty, 1981).

Fishing pressure on both trout and coarse fish will mount, and tourist fishing will increase decidedly.

Climatic conditions and social preferences indicate that aquaculture will continue to be confined to cold water species, especially the well-tested rainbow trout and salmon. A report prepared by the National Board of Science and Technology (circa 1982), indicated that by the year 2000, the Irish Republic could raise 3 000 t of rainbow trout in fresh water, and 5 000 t of rainbow trout and 5 000 t of Atlantic salmon in sea water¹. Although the production of cultured trout has lagged far below this prophecy (only 645 t in 1989), the production of cultivated salmon has already exceeded the prophecy of 5 000 t by the year 2000, being 9 200 t in 1989. An even more optomistic prophecy has been made by Murphy (1986) who stated that the Irish “potential” in fish aquaculture was 20 000 t of trout and 60 000 t of salmon annually. Cage culture will be extended, accompanied by selection for later maturity in salmon. To date, indications are that eel culture has only limited possibilities in Ireland.

¹ Not seen by the author. Information from Fish.Farm.Int., 9(5):8–9 (1982)

Salmon ranching has been considered in Ireland, but according to Piggins (1980a) it now seems to be non-viable as a private commercial enterprise, although perhaps useful if State-sponsored. Among the difficulties are securing legislation which would permit such an operation, costs of siting and rearing, and survival in view of exploitation by coastal netting.

As animal husbandry becomes more intensive (e.g., greater use of confined rather than ranging animals), and industrialization increases, there will be an increase in effluent production and overall water use. At present there are no major schemes for inter-river transfers and the construction of estuarine barrages (as in the UK) which could affect fisheries. The exhaustion of peat resources early in the next century will bring about changes in the production of electricity which may affect inland fisheries.

All in all, the prospect for inland fisheries in Ireland is better than in most countries.

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