Shore anglers are up in arms at the new beach bye-laws proposed by Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council which, in effect, bans all shore angling from Booterstown Strand to Corbawn Lane in Shankill, Co Dublin.
The public notice appeared in this newspaper on August 17th. In the 10-page draft, the council states it may designate areas on beaches where fishing will be prohibited, and goes on to say designated areas for fishing will be Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbour in Dalkey. Clearly, the council did not consult with anglers and angling groups prior to compiling the new amendments.
If anything, the only non-designated areas for angling should be the two harbours, and all other areas within the council's jurisdiction should be available to anglers. Booterstown Strand, Blackrock, Seapoint, Sandycove, White Rock, Killiney and Corbawn Lane are popular venues for anglers. Indeed, Killiney is one of the most productive beaches along the east coast and a regular choice for club competitions.
A decade ago, a similar scare erupted when Wicklow County Council (WCC) announced it may designate periods of time and areas of beaches at Greystones, Brittas Bay North and Brittas Bay South during which fishing will be prohibited.
However, in a letter to this newspaper at that time, George Jones, WCC Environmental Strategic Committee chairman, said it was not the council's intention to do any damage to sea-angling and, in fact, extended an invitation to sea anglers to continue to use the Wicklow beaches.
He suggested anglers should make a submission to WCC because "the whole purpose of the public consultation is to get the views of the public".
Tom Lillis, chairman of Leinster Council of the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers, said: "I have no problem working in partnership with the council to find common ground to facilitate all users of our beaches. However, I won't allow a blanket ban on shore angling in this jurisdiction," he said. Free copies of the draft Beach Bye Laws 2007 are available at the County Hall, Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire and Dundrum Office, Main Street, Dundrum until September 20th. The council will consider submissions in writing to the Senior Executive Officer, Culture, Community Development and Amenities Department, Level 3, County Hall, Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire before noon on September 28th.
Shannon International River Basin District Project has produced a booklet entitled Water Matters - Have Your Say, which explains the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements and the necessary steps to implement the changes.
Basically, the WFD requires governments to take a new approach to managing rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters. Member States must ensure that waters achieve at least "good" status by 2015. To achieve this, it will be necessary to establish management plans for the respective waters. To get a copy of the booklet, e-mail Enda Thompson at info@shannonrbd. com or Cate Murphy at catriona.murphy@doeni.gov.uk
A meeting on the importance of the Water Framework Directive to achieving clean water will be held in the Commercial Boat Club, Wood Quay, Galway, tomorrow at 8.30pm. Pat Canny, co-ordinator of the Western River Basin District, will outline plans for achieving clean water by 2015.
Admission is free. For further information, see www.westernrbd.ie.
High water levels continue to bring in plenty of salmon, according to Colin Folan, fishery manager at Lough Inagh, Co Mayo. "Last September was our best month for salmon and this year promises to be even better," he said.
Notable catches included Michael Heery from Dublin, who fished Inagh for a day and caught two grilse on a Claret Dabbler, plus two sea trout.
Eugene McMahon, Galway landed a 3.2kg salmon and five sea trout on a Daddy and Denis Murphy, Dublin caught an excellent sea trout of 1.4kg.
Vincent Foley and Folan caught six sea trout and nine brownies to 0.9kg on Bibios and Raymonds and John Dardis, Kildare landed a fresh grilse of 2.7kg on the Glendallogh Butts on a Hairy Mary.
For more details or to book fishing, contact Colin at Lough Inagh Lodge Hotel, tel. 095-34706 or 086-8679459 or e-mail inagh@iol.ie.