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Falsecast

Monday: Paul Arden
Tuesday: Davy Wotton
Wednesday: Matt Klara
Thursday: Harps
Friday: Ray Fairweather
Saturday: Viking Lars
Sunday: Sean Geer

Until the late 1980’s the Ballynahinch System in Connemara, Ireland was regarded as the best sea trout fishery in Ireland with up to 5,500 sea trout and 500 salmon being caught annually.

The introduction of salmon farming in the estuary at Ballynahinch in 1988 destroyed the stocks of both salmon and sea trout. Annual sea trout rod catches collapsed from 5,500 to 100 whilst the salmon catch fell from 500 to 50. The sea lice emanating from these salmon farms have been proven to be the cause of this utter decimation of the wild stock of salmonids. The population of these tiny creatures, which naturally occur in the wild, exploded due to the massive increase in available hosts (ie over one million salmon in up to 30 open pens in the estuary). The migrating salmon and trout were attacked by sea lice as soon as they went into the seawater and died as a direct result of the infection or from secondary skin infections due to the breakdown of their immune barrier.

Over the period 1988-2004, the salmon farm went bankrupt 3 times incurring huge financial losses, despite massive government grants. In 2004 the salmon operation ceased and a cod farming operation commenced in the Ballynahinch estuary with a 3 year trial licence. Cod aquaculture does not propagate the harmful salmon louse that has proved so detrimental to the wild stocks at Ballynahinch and other parts of Ireland. From 2004 until 2008, the sea trout rod catches at Ballynahinch improved from 100 to 1,500 and the salmon catches have increased from 50 to 270.

Incredibly, in October 2008, the sudden reintroduction of salmon farming to Bertraghboy Bay shocked anglers worldwide and will certainly result in a repeat of the situation experienced at Ballynahinch in the late 1980’s as the sea lice will definitely cause a collapse in the wild fish stocks. It is without doubt that the resurgence in the wild salmon and sea trout seen over the past four years will be wiped out when the fish migrate from Ballynahinch to the estuary in the spring of 2009.

While the farm was up and running between 2001 and 2004 farming salmon and between 2004 and 2008 farming cod and again this year for both species, numerous infringements on the licencing agreement occured. One i'd like to mention is the Benthic Monitoring Report. This report has to be sent in annually. It has never been carried out or sent in. Basically the report entails sending a diver down under the cages to survey the state of the seabed beneath the cages. Each year the licencing body sends a letter to the farm owners stating that they are in breach of their licence but there are never any consequences.

This is not an alarmist or hysterical kneejerk reaction. The peer reviewed scientific evidence resulting from studies carried out in Ireland and other countries throughout the salmon farming world over the past 20 years proved this beyond all scientific doubt.

This situation cannot be allowed to continue. The strength of a plea from the worldwide fishing community can really help to bring this ludicrous situation to an end. We cannot sit back and watch as another environmental disaster unfolds. This impending catastrophe can be stopped if the Irish Government would only wake up and realise what they are doing. The value of a wild fishery in this day and age far outweighs an unviable, fundamentally flawed industry that is salmon farming. I would urge you to voice your concerns and send an email to Minister Brendan Smith, the Irish Minister for Agriculture minister@agriculture.gov.ie and tell him what you think of this crazy situation.

I want to make the world aware of what's happening here. Thanks for listening!

Ronan..

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