A EUROPEAN Commission-funded plan to clean up one of the State’s most populated salmon rivers will be unveiled in Limerick tonight.
The commission has provided €1.75 million to remedy the environmental damage done to the river Mulkear and its catchment of smaller rivers and streams.
The Mulkear rises in the Slievefelim and Silvermines mountains in north Tipperary and joins the river Shannon below Annacotty in Limerick.
Its catchment area covers some 650sq km and contains a variety of habitats and protected species, much of it designated as a special area of conservation under the EU habitats directive.
The money provided for the Mulkear project will be spent on improving habitats for species such as Atlantic salmon, which have spawned in the river for thousands of years, as well as the native European otter and sea and brook lamprey eels.
The project also aims to reverse the damage caused to the river by invasive exotic species such as the giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed.
Project manager Ruairí Ó Conchúir of the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board says that the Mulkear ranks among Ireland’s most populated salmon rivers.
It is home to some 15 fish species and is an important waterway for kingfisher and white-clawed crayfish.
The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board is the lead partner together with the Office of Public Works and the three county councils in Limerick and Tipperary.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service and farming organisations are also supporting the commission’s initiative.
To mark the launch of the project, a series of four illustrated talks, starting tonight, will take place this month in the Strand Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick, to highlight the natural heritage of the Mulkear catchment.