The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board is the
competent fisheries authority for the inland fisheries and sea
angling resource of the Shannon Catchment and much of the
Mid-West Region. Included in its area are the River Feale
Catchment in North Kerry and the rivers of County Clare flowing
westward towards the Atlantic. The Board’s Coastal boundaries
stretch from Kerry Head to Hags Head in Co. Clare.
The Board was established under the Fisheries
Act 1980 and was given additional responsibilities under the
Fisheries Act 1999. The Board operates under the auspices of the
Department of the Marine & Natural Resources which has overall
policy responsibility for the conservation, management,
regulation and development of the Inland Fisheries resource. The
Board has responsibility for policy advice, co-ordination and
implementation. The Board of 22 members is informed and has its
decisions implemented by the Chief Executive Officer. The
Headquarters of the Board is in Limerick, while the majority of
its resources are located in 9 local areas where most of the
implementation work is carried out.
In delivering its responsibilities the Board
maintains a highly trained and motivated staff, with a permanent
staff complement of 51 and nine temporary staff. The
multi-flexible nature and dedication of our staff allows for
greater effectiveness at local level in all parts of the Region.
This geographical spread of staff throughout the Region allows
close links with local and angling communities.
The Board’s catchment area is the largest of
the seven Regional Fisheries Boards. It ranges from above Lough
Allen in the North to below Listowel in the South, and from Loop
Head in the West to Lough Sheelin in the East. Within this area
there are over 7,000 square miles of lake, 7,000 miles of river
and some 220 miles of coastline. It holds some 26 species of
freshwater fish and 36 sea angling species. The Region is home
to some excellent game, coarse and sea angling. While coarse
fish are the dominant species, the extensive waters also hold
stocks of threatened and rare fish species such as pollen and
smelt.
In addition to hosting a wide variety of fish
species, the Region’s waterways also cater for many other
recreational users including large numbers of cruiser boats. The
river Shannon is particularly popular for cruisers and, as a
result of its connection by canal to the river Erne, is the
largest cruising waterway in Europe.
The Region’s inland fisheries resource has
suffered greatly from pollution and human intervention in recent
decades. Declining water quality and habitat degradation have
had a particularly adverse impact on stocks of salmon and wild
brown trout. In recent times, however, the Board has noticed a
slight improvement in water quality levels and through the
partnership process will endeavour to accelerate this movement,
while continuing to actively utilise its regulatory powers.
The Board’s
mandate can be summarised as follows:
-
protect the fisheries in
the Region and generally enforce the relevant Fisheries Acts;
-
prepare development plans
for the fisheries under the Board’s management;
-
manage, protect, conserve,
develop and improve the fisheries, hatcheries and fish farms
under the care and management of the Board in accordance with
the relevant Fisheries Acts, the development plans and
Ministerial direction;
-
promote and encourage the
management, conservation, protection, development and
improvement of fisheries which are not under the control of
the Board;
-
market, promote, develop
and encourage the provision of facilities for game, coarse and
sea angling;
-
promote, co-ordinate and
encourage the voluntary development of inland fisheries
catchment management plans;
-
co-operate and co-ordinate
with the Central Fisheries Board and/or Regional Fisheries
Boards to ensure the effective and efficient deployment of
resources, performance of functions, drawing up of estimates
and provision of services within and between the fishery
regions;
-
have regard to the need for
sustainable development of the inland fisheries resource.
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