#Angling - Joe McHugh, Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources, has announced €230,000 in funding for the rehabilitation of wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout stocks under the Salmon Conservation Fund, managed by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI).
Some 24 projects have been approved under the fund, and beneficiaries of this year's scheme include angling clubs, private fishery owners, riparian owners and tourism organisations.
Funds will be distributed across the country with the main beneficiaries undertaking projects on the rivers and tributaries of Castletown, Fane, Dee, Boyne, Vartry, Nore, Suir, Cork Blackwater, Lower Shannon, Newport, Glen and Crana.
The fund was open to contributors to the scheme with works to include: fish passage improvement; spawning enhancement; in-stream structures (such as repairs to weirs, insertion of deflectors, rubble mats, random boulders); river bank protection; fencing to restrict livestock access to the river; and tree pruning, along with the removal and control of exotic invasive species.
These works will contribute towards the rejuvenation of Ireland's wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout stocks with a view to opening further rivers in the coming years to facilitate angling and commercial fishing activities.
The works are seen as an important initiative to conserve, develop and protect the country's valuable natural resources, especially in light of the continued decline of salmon stocks, among other key species, in the Irish Sea.
Minister McHugh commented: "The Salmon Conservation Fund is an annual fund open to contributors to the scheme and I would encourage all those interested in the promotion of our wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout fisheries to consider suitable projects for consideration under the fund for 2015 and beyond."
Full details of the Salmon Conservation Fund can be obtained on the IFI website HERE.
