What do you know about the Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus)? Very little, I would imagine. Certainly, in all my years fishing, I have never seen, let alone had the good fortune of catching one of these mysterious creatures. Yet, for all their rarity, they do exist in our lakes today and, from reports, are a delight to catch for their serenity and beauty.
Ireland's char is a close relative of the salmon and trout and among the first salmonids to enter fresh water from the cold glacial seas, according to The Angler in Ireland by Dr Ken Whelan. They tend to habit deep gullies to depths of 20 metres and are rarely encountered by anglers.
Their colouration almost defies description with vivid orange on the tummy, a halo of gold about the flanks, dotted with large, obtrusive black spots, and cold granite grey on the back. If you do encounter a char, treat it with respect and return this glacial relic to its ancestral home, he says.
In the past their distribution was relatively widespread. Today, however, that situation has reversed. The char is fast disappearing from our lakes and is now listed as an endangered species. It is clear that unless a rescue package is instigated forthwith, Ireland is in danger of losing one of its national treasures.
Enter the Irish Char Conservation Group (ICCG), a newly-formed assemblage of anglers and scientists dedicated to the conservation and welfare of the Irish char. Voluntary by nature, the group has set up shop to increase public awareness of the species and to establish a database relating to all char matters.
Already a considerable amount of material is available and information may be obtained from their new website, launched last week by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, in Galway. Meanwhile, the ICCG can be contacted by e-mail at iccg@oceanfree.ie
Shutdown in total format continues with all angling and angling-related activities postponed or cancelled until further notice. While this decision is no doubt causing hardship and frustration across the angling spectrum, it is one which must be strictly adhered to by all concerned. We must all play our part in preventing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease to this State.
A new by-law, "Control of Angling (Emergency) No. C.S. 275, 2001", reads as follows: "This by-law shall come into operation on March 3rd, 2001, and notwithstanding any by-law made under Section 9 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959, angling with rod and line for the several species of fish is prohibited in all fishery districts during the period commencing on March 3rd, 2001, and ending on April 20th, 2001."
Another casualty is the postponement of the presentation to Ireland's world champion, Mr Tim O'Sullivan, and the Irish team scheduled for this evening in the Howth Angling Centre. Already postponed is this afternoon's Irish specimen awards presentation in the Burlington Hotel.
I myself had the disappointment of cancelling a pre-arranged salmon-and-trout outing to Killarney Lakes (Lower) this week. I look forward to teaming up with Joe and Fergus again when the coast is clear.
Correspondence and fishy photographs to The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2. Fax: 679 1881. Email: angling@irish-times.ie