GAA grounds

We have been made aware that a number of our anglers are under the impression that the GAA is responsible for the new fencing close to the Kerry bridge in the GAA grounds. This fencing has been in place now for quite a while.  The work was done by Kerry County Council at the request of a private individual who was concerned about anti-social behaviour at the bridge. The only issue for the club was that a locked gate at the end of the path at the riverside blocked a right of way for anglers. This gate is now permanently open, so anglers should have no issue with the fence.

We wish to make it abundantly clear that the GAA have absolutely no responsibility either for having it erected or in maintaining it. If any member feels aggrieved at the fencing, we would ask them to take up the issue with Kerry County Council who were responsible for the fence.

TAC split for 2018

At the Fishery District Committee meeting in Listowel last night the split for 2018 was decided by the director of IFI. The decision was 65% to nets and 35% to rods as was the case in 2016. This leaves 428 salmon to the commercial anglers and 230 salmon for anglers. You don’t have to be an Einstein to see that with approximately 325 anglers on the river, at least 95 of them will not have a tag for a salmon this year.

Approximately 325 anglers on the Feale pay €18,200 in licence fees. Last year, 28 net licences contributed €10,200 in licence fees. Thus the anglers, who pay almost twice as much as the nets in licence costs, get just over half the allowance of the nets. That does not appear to be a fair distribution.

International statistics have shown that that a rod caught salmon yields over €1,000 in tourist revenue. A net caught salmon is valued at the basic cost of the salmon which is around €100. Taking that into consideration it is clear that the TAC division on the Feale makes no economic sense either.

On a slightly more positive note, the counter figures for the last four years appear to have levelled off at around 3,500 salmon. From 2014 to 2017 the  returns were 3604, 3570, 3710 and 3567. This years returns will be worth watching.

Tight lines to all anglers who are lucky enough to have a brown tag for a salmon!

TAC for 2018

The news for anglers on the Feale in 2018 is not good. The (TAC) Total Allowable Catch for the entire season is again on a downward curve, from 954 in 2017 to 658 in 2018. This is just above two thirds of last year’s TAC.  This catch has to be divided between the nets and the rods. Last year the breakdown was 60/40 for nets/rods.  That would mean a potential catch of 263 salmon for rod anglers in 2018. Considering that there are around 400 anglers on the Feale, that means that  at least 137 anglers or more will not get a brown tag. So much for your licence fee and conservation fund.

How a government department, charged with protecting and developing the salmon potential in Ireland, can wilfully allow the rape of one of the finest rivers in Europe is beyond me. And they are backed by the advice of the scientific committee.

Some fishery department, some IFI and some scientists!!!

 

AGM 2018

The AGM of the club will take place on Sunday 18th February at 3:00 pm in the GAA clubhouse. A change in the club constitution will be recommended to bring the club into line with the conditions of Public Procurement.

If members have email addresses it would be greatly appreciated if they forwarded them to the secretary at “denisdennison@gmail.com” . It would help to cut down postage costs.

It would be great to see a full turnout of members at the AGM.

D

Limerick Waters

There will be a meeting tonight in the GAA pavilion on Limerick Waters. Anybody with an interest in the river Feale is welcome to attend. It would be great to see a sizeable number in attendance as the river is in need of a lot of TLC. The work that had to be done behind the town park in the recent past is a clear indication of the problems that have to be addressed. Add to that the problem of bank erosion, invasive species, dissappearing salmon numbers and forestry to name but a few and you begin to realise the scope of the problems.

The meeting starts at 7:30 pm.

 

Limerick Waters

There will be a meeting tonight in the GAA pavilion on Limerick Waters. Anybody with an interest in the river Feale is welcome to attend. It would be great to see a sizeable number in attendance as the river is in need of a lot of TLC. The work that had to be done behind the town park in the recent past is a clear indication of the problems that have to be addressed. Add to that the problem of bank erosion, invasive species, dissappearing salmon numbers and forestry to name but a few and you begin to realise the scope of the problems.

The meeting starts at 7:30 pm.

TAC division 2014

At the Local Area Committee meeting in Listowel, the decision handed down was to give the nets 67.5% of the Total Allowable Catch  and 32.5% to the anglers. From any point of view, this has to be seen as a massive kick in the teeth to anglers. If the net catch is divided evenly between the 38 nets, they are being given 51 salmon per boat.  The salmon allocation for anglers works out at 2 salmon per angler. As the modern youth would say, “Go figure!”

The contribution to the state from Net licences is around€15,000 while the anglers licences contribute at least €25,00. And that is only the beginning. All the clubs on the river have committed huge sums to the protection of the banks and development of the spawning areas. This investment was in cash and in labour, which was given freely. This work is done on an annual basis and it would not be unreasonable to put a figure close to €500,000 as the investment from the five clubs on the river.

The IFI board was set up to transform salmon management in Ireland. Their mission statement spoke of a professional business like approach to the management of the catch. The dogs in the street know that the value of a rod caught salmon is at least €1000.  A ten pound salmon from the net will return around €80 to the netsman. Where is the economic benefit to the state in giving nets the bulk of the salmon harvest?

A just system would give the different disciplines a pro rata return for their investment to the state. Based on the licence fees alone, this would give 60% to the rods and 40% to the nets. This does not even address the investment by the clubs in the fisheries they manage.

It is time the anglers took action against this injustice!

 

 

2014 Regulations

Angling regulations for the Feale in 2014 are much the same as last year. Opening day is March 1st and from March 1st to May 11th inclusive only single barbless hooks may be used. No salmon may be taken during this period.

From the 12th May to 30th September a bag limit of one salmon per day is allowed, to a total of four salmon for the season. Once a salmon has been taken on any day, further fishing that day is by single barbless hook only. If an angler fills the four salmon total during the season, any further fishing must be on single barbless hook on a catch and release basis only.

The net season this year is kept to the months of June and July. This measure last year was very likely responsible for the increase of 2000 salmon that came over the counter. This has resulted in an increase of 880 salmon in the Total Allowable Catch(TAC) for the season. If this shortened season for nets and anglers is kept in place for a number of years we could possibly begin to see the start of the rehabilitation  of the river. It would also allow for  an increase in the TAC on a yearly basis.

We wish  all our members a satisfactory season on the river.

abbeyfeale anglers association

The year is coming to a close and so far, according to current rumours, the number of salmon crossing the dam at Finuge is reasonably up on last year. This may be due to the fact that both the netting season and the angling season were curtailed this year with the result that more salmon escaped to spawn. It shows that by shortening the season for nets and rods a greater number of salmon escaped. For the first time in years, the end of year result showed an increase over the previous year.  This curtailment of rods and nets is essential for the next eight to ten years to bring a realistic increase to salmon stocks. If this is done there could be a relaxation of the rules governing the harvesting of salmon, to the benefit of rods and nets. It would also benefit the river if the conservation limit was increased, leading to a greater escape of salmon to spawn.

There is no cause for celebration yet. The fall in stocks has been so great that the five year average, which controls the salmon harvest for rods and nets, will still be substantially less for the 2009 / 2013 period than the 2008 / 2012 period. This will mean a further reduction in salmon harvesting on the Feale next year. If anglers are genuine about minding the remaining resource, there will be no taking of salmon beyond the legally permitted limit. Blaming the tidal fishing cuts no ice if anglers are not tagging and declaring their catch.

We look forward to 2014 with the wish that the increase will continue and give some hope for the future of the salmon in the Feale. The 127,000 salmon taken around 1920 is a bit far away yet.

abbeyfealeanglersassociation

The contract details for the bridge on the Oolagh were published on E tenders. There was a high return from contractors applying for the contact. The resolution of the successful contract is now with the consultant engineers, MDM Engineering, Dublin.

We are awaiting news from West Limerick Resources on the outcome of the financing for the bridge and removal of the concrete slab. Once that is resolved successfully, it should be full steam ahead.