Fish ramp for river Nore due before next salmon run

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has announced the latest proposal to resolve a two-year controversy surrounding problems encountered by salmon at the Lacken Weir on the river Nore in Kilkenny.

Following a four-month review, Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Tom Parlon, said yesterday a rock ramp-type fish pass will be built at the weir, which is near Kilkenny Castle.

Since the winter of 2004 salmon returning from the Atlantic have been hampered on their journey up-river to spawn because the weir is too high.

It was heightened by the OPW during flood-relief works two years ago.

The proposal also involves the removal of an existing fish pass which had been widely criticised by local anglers and public representatives for allegedly preventing thousands of salmon from reaching their natural spawning grounds.

Anglers claim there has been a catastrophic drop in fish stocks on the river.

Luke Boyle, the president of the Kilkenny Anglers Association, welcomed the Minister's announcement.

"We are quite happy that this is the right solution", he said.

He expressed confidence that the work could be completed before the main salmon run begins in November.

The anglers had been lobbying for the rock-ramp pass for the last two years and had threatened legal action against the Minister and the OPW.

The new fish pass will require 1,000 tonnes of rock in the form of boulders to be placed on a section of the weir and sloped down to the river bed below.

The design, which incorporates resting-pools, is intended to allow salmon and other fish, including lamprey eels, to pass over the weir in a "more natural" way.

The visual effect will be similar to the "rapids" often seen on American rivers.

Rock ramp passes have been built on many rivers around the world and an OPW delegation recently visited the Rhine valley in Germany to observe the workings of similar fish passes.

Tom Sherlock, an OPW official who visited Kilkenny yesterday for a public information day at which the plans were displayed, said the works would begin in mid-August, last about eight weeks and cost in the region of €100,000.

Mr Sherlock said that the proposed solution was a "wise" use of taxpayers money and he would have no difficulty in justifying the cost to the Public Accounts Committee.

The overall cost of the Kilkenny flood-relief project, which was originally estimated at €13 million, has risen to an estimated €50 million.