BUNCRANA'S beautiful
Crana River is being destroyed by ruthless poachers
using threats, chemicals and illegal nets to
illegally catch salmon.
That's according to the trustees of the Buncrana
Anglers' Association, who also revealed that two
anglers were recently attacked on the river by young
poachers.
In a letter to InishowenNews.com today, trustee
Bosco Coyle outlines his concerns for the future of
the Crana - a 12km long river that flows into Lough
Swilly.
"There are fewer salmon returning to our rivers to
spawn. But even the few who manage to make it to our
rivers are the target of what I would call
'environmental criminals'.
"These people, and in a lot of cases, young people,
aided and abetted by their parents, are destroying a
valuable natural resource of a salmon river, the
rights of which are owned and managed by local
Buncrana people for local people.
"Nets, chemicals and sadly liquids have all been
used to take salmon from the Crana River. The danger
is that when chemicals or liquids are used,
everything in the immediate vicinity is killed
including young salmon which do not even get the
chance to go to sea to return as a salmon." Even
more worryingly, Mr. Coyle said anglers were being
threatened. "I know of two anglers who have been
stoned and threatened by young people on the Crana
River in the past couple of weeks.
"This was done to get them out of the way so that
they could net the river. These are not isolated
incidents. These actions have been ongoing now for
some years and it is time that the authorities put a
stop to this behaviour."
He urged the fisheries authorities to up the patrols
on the river to stop and confiscate vehicles with
illegally-caught fish and fishing gear.
He added: "Depleting the salmon stocks in any river
is the same as cutting down the trees. Once they are
gone, they will not come back. I want to see salmon
and trout in the Crana River for my children and
their children and for many generations to come."
To read letter in full,
click here
. |
