[Noel Kelly]

Hope these numpties get what they deserve

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Anglers Caught With Live Carp On Lough Derg - 'Most serious incident' of anglers importing live fish to target Ireland's pike.

In the days preceding Fisheries Awareness Week, during which the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board (ShRFB ) is seeking to educate and promote awareness of our valuable natural fisheries resource, an incident was uncovered which had the potential to cause serious damage to one of Ireland's finest wild fisheries.

During a routine patrol of Lough Derg near Killaloe, Fisheries Officers from the ShRFB on routine patrol uncovered the most serious incident to date regarding the importation of live fish for use as fishing bait. A group of French anglers were using live carp as bait for pike fishing. During the course of the investigation, Officers uncovered live carp on fishing rods, in tanks both inside a boat and in containers which were tied onto another boat. There were even live carp being held in a keep net, which was attached to the jetty on the shore and in their holiday accommodation.

The carp, which the anglers had in their possession, was brought with them from France into Ireland. The use of live bait in Ireland is illegal for a number of reasons but mainly to prevent non- native fish movements and the introduction of disease. Of serious concern to the ShRFB is that carp are not currently present in Lough Derg. These carp could have the potential to introduce diseases or if carp became established in Lough Derg, they would upset the balance of nature. Lough Derg is the third largest lake in Ireland and is rich in fish species such as trout, bream, pike and roach.

Mr Eamon Cusack, CEO of the ShRFB, stated that “incidents like this are becoming all too common. While on this occasion I would hope that we have prevented a more serious situation developing, we cannot cover all waters all of the time. While we are currently working with other agencies to tighten regulations it is also imperative on us to make anglers and people aware of the consequences to our native fish of such actions.
One of the highlights of Fisheries Awareness Week is a one-day conference being held in Limerick on the 30th April, which is titled “Shannon Waters – Managing Fisheries in Challenging Times” and will address some of these issues. It is vitally important that anglers and those in the tourist industry are aware of the dangers the introduction of non- native fish species can have on our wild waters.”
Further details on the conference or Fisheries Awareness Week can be found at http://www.education.shrfb.ie

The Board requests the public, particularly accommodation providers and anglers, who may become aware of such illegal activity to contact the board's office at 061300238.

http://www.onlinefishing.tv/news/ang...on-lough-derg/

[Jim Eddie]

Absolutely Noel , they should throw the book at the daft buggers 

 

Jim

[Rob Brownfield]

Not the first to do it by a long way...A rather well known angler called Nige Williams who works for Masterline/Rapala was caught as Holyhead with tanks of live carp ready to be taken across to Ireland. Who knows how many times he had got away with it as he makes 10+ trips a year across with parties of anglers.

There have been rumours of French and German anglers doing this for years and years..all very bad stuff!

Besides the risks to the balance of the water (not sure its that great to tell the truth, but thats besides the point) the fact is live baiting has been illegal in Ireland for 30 or 40 years.