The great lakes of the west of Ireland remain Europe's most important freshwater angling locations, not to mention supplying water to many of the region's urban centres. However, of the seven larger lakes, "three are now in trouble, deteriorating instead of getting better", says Mr Tony Waldron of the Carra-Mask Angling Federation - one of the State's largest angler groups.
Reports on Lough Mask and Lough Corrib have confirmed the slow, insidious deterioration of what are very sensitive waters. But many people are profoundly disturbed by new indications that smaller lakes are showing signs of strain, such as loughs Carra, Gill and Arrow.
Environmental groups say this coincides with a nationwide deterioration of potable water supplies.
Algal blooms this year on the latter two lakes were further confirmation of what anglers witness in terms of declining water quality and enrichment along shorelines almost every time they take out a boat. Sligo County Council had to warn the public not to come in contact with water where these blooms were occurring. It also told farmers and pet-owners not to allow their animals access to affected water. Such warnings are no longer infrequent occurrences throughout Ireland.
There has been some improvement, as in Lough Derg, but this has to be put in the context of "massive deterioration over many years", according to Mr Paddy Mackey of Voice and Save Our Lough Derg. The scale of the problem led to its campaign, supported by the Department of the Environment and Tipperary North Riding County Council, to curb the use of phosphate-rich detergents in the vicinity of the lake.
The Government is being commended at EU level for its "catchment management" approach to protecting key rivers and lakes, so much so that this is being used as a model for other European countries.
However, the European Commission remains to be convinced of the extent of the commitment, the appetite for enforcing regulations and controlling excessive application of phosphorus to land as fertiliser and slurry and on the willingness to apply anti-pollution directives to the level envisaged by them.