Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured convictions against three men in two separate cases of illegal angling on Lough Sheelin.

Jason Bennett of Blue Ball, Co Offaly and Thomas McCarthy of Tullamore, Co Offaly were prosecuted for trolling — where a fishing line is drawn through the water behind a boat — outside of the permitted season.

Separately, Marius Sarauskas of Navan, Co Meath was prosecuted for obstructing IFI officers while they were attempting to issue him with a fixed-charge penalty notice (FCPN), or fine, of €150 for illegal trolling on Lough Sheelin.

Lough Sheelin, bordering counties Cavan, Meath, and Westmeath, attracts anglers nationwide and internationally and is a famed wild brown trout lake.

It is illegal to troll on Lough Sheelin between 1 March and 16 June, a ban introduced to help conserve fish stocks.

Mullingar District Court heard how Bennett and McCarthy were offered the opportunity to pay a fine of €150 — issued in lieu of court proceedings — for the alleged offences at Clareisland, Co Westmeath but did not do so.

Both men failed to have a midland permit required to fish on Lough Sheelin at the time of the incident on 3 June 2023.

A fine €500 was imposed on both defendants, with costs of €1,053 also charged to each man, in court on 26 January this year.

A third conviction was secured at Cavan District Court on 2 February where Marius Sarauskas was convicted of obstructing fishery officers at Kilnahard, Co Cavan.

IFI officers were attempting to issue him with a fine for illegal trolling on Lough Sheelin on 13 May 2023.

Sarauskas was fined €400 and must also pay €1,642 toward the costs of the case.

David McInerney, Shannon River Basin District director at IFI said: “These cases highlight the seriousness of failing to comply with angling regulations, and of obstructing fishery officers while doing their work.

“It also serves as a reminder that fixed-charged penalty notices are issued in lieu of court proceedings, and failure to pay these fines can result in court convictions.

“Angling rules must be obeyed to support the management and protection of the unique Lough Sheelin fishery. In general, compliance among anglers in Lough Sheelin is high.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured convictions against two men for illegal netting, with fines and costs reaching €8,000.

Valiulis Dalius and Bloslanas Dzapbarovas, both of Kilnamanagh in Dublin 24, were prosecuted for using a net to capture fish in freshwater river/lakes and for keeping up a continued net stretched across any river.

The incident happened on the Grand Canal near Monasterevin, in the townland of Killinure, Co Laois on 27 May 2023.

This case was finalised at Portlaoise District Court on 16 February. The offences were in contravention of Section 95(1) of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959, and Section 91(1)(d) of the same Act, as amended by Section 77 of the Inland Fisheries Act 2010.

Both men were fined €3,000 each, and had to pay €1,000 in legal costs each.

Commenting after the court verdict, Lynda Connor, South Eastern River Basin District director at IFI said: “The protection of our freshwater fish species is extremely important in an era when there are numerous pressures impacting Ireland’s environment.

“I commend our local IFI protection officers for their unwavering commitment in protecting our fisheries resource.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured a prosecution against Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) after 40,000 litres of chemical leaked into a stream, killing 100 fish.

The incident happened on 11 June 2022 at the Whelan’s Bridge Stream, a tributary of the River Suir in Co Waterford, and caused the death of 100 fish including salmon, trout, lamprey and eels.

Uisce Éireann was found to have committed water pollution breaches at the Adamstown Water Treatment Plant at Kilmeadan, Co Waterford and must now pay more than €7,100 in connection with the incident.

Evidence was given by IFI Fisheries Environmental Officer Oliver McGrath who outlined the facts to the court.

Approximately 40,000 litres of aluminium sulphate — a chemical toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates — discharged into the stream from storage tanks on the plant site.

The defendants were found to have permitted or caused deleterious matter to enter into the waters of the Whelan’s Bridge Stream, contrary to Section 171 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959.

Waterford District Court imposed a fine of €4,000 on Uisce Éireann, and it was also ordered to pay costs of €3114.60, when the case was finalised last week on Monday 26 February.

Commenting after the verdict, Lynda Connor, South Eastern River Basin District director at IFI said: “This outcome highlights IFI’s continued and determined efforts to protect and conserve Ireland's inland fisheries resource.

“Fish kills, such as these, are serious and damaging ecological events. It is critical that Uisce Éireann ensures that adequate systems and processes are in place to prevent any such incident recurring.”

A separate IFI investigation resulted in Uisce Éireann being fined €10,000 in relation to the death of 2,000 fish in Co Clare in May 2023, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has prosecuted a forestry owner who must now pay €10,000 for damage caused to a fish spawning habitat.

Michael McHugh of Kilbride, Clonee, Co Meath was prosecuted for allowing large volumes of silt to wash into the Cornavannogue River at Glenfarne, Co Leitrim.

Clearfelling and replanting had taken place on a site bordering the Cornavannogue River owned by McHugh.

Insufficient mitigation measures were in place to control silt run-off at the 13.5-hectare forestry site, which led to the water being contaminated.

Following reports of a pollution event, IFI staff found sediment-laden water entering the Cornavannogue River from the nearby forestry site.

IFI senior environmental officer Ailish Keane visited the location on 9 January 2023 and observed significant quantities of silt going into the water.

The case in relation to the incident was heard at Manorhamilton District Court on Wednesday 14 February.

McHugh was given the benefit of the Probation Act and must give a voluntary contribution of €5,750 to Glenfarne Community Development Trust, along with costs of €4,250 for IFI.

Glenfarne Community Development Trust provides services and initiatives for the local Glenfarne community in Leitrim, and the money will be used to enhance and further develop the playground near the impacted river.

The funds will also cover the costs of information signs to promote environmental awareness of the area, detailing local flora, fauna and biodiversity by the Cornavannogue River catchment.

Dr Milton Matthews, director of IFI’s North Western River Basin District said: “This pollution incident at a tributary of the River Erne was entirely avoidable. It represented a total disregard of best practice guidelines for forestry management.

“These guidelines are required for appropriate management of clearfelling and replanting of forestry sites located adjacent to a river, or other watercourse.

“IFI is committed to ensuring that appropriate forestry practices are fully adhered to, to protect and preserve Ireland’s fish stocks and aquatic habitats for future generations.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured a conviction against Sligo County Council for damage caused to a tributary of a river linked to a Special Area of Conservation.

The incident happened at Carraun in Corballa, Co Sligo on a stream which flows into the Killala Bay/Moy Estuary Special Area of Conservation.

It involved machinery, commissioned by the council, driving through a river bed while carrying out road improvement works nearby.

The machinery crossed the stream a number of times, despite previous instructions from IFI to use an alternative route.

Sligo County Council was fined €250, must pay costs of €1,845 and has to pay €500 to IFI in respect of the expense of assessing restorative works.

Mary Walsh, director of IFI’s Western River Basin District, Ballina, said: “This work was overseen by the council, a large public body, and the habitat damage caused by machinery traversing the stream should never have taken place.

“IFI will continue to prosecute such illegal activity in fulfilment of our remit to protect and conserve Ireland's important inland fisheries resource.”

Prior to the commencement of proposed council works, consultation took place between an IFI senior environmental officer and a representative from Sligo County Council during which IFI clearly outlined the sensitivity of the watercourse on the site, and of the pollution mitigation measures required.

Despite this, damage was done to the river bed and the banks of a tributary stream of the Newtown River in April 2023.

The case was heard at Sligo District Court on Tuesday 6 February.

Walsh added: “Public bodies, contractors and landowners need to seek all necessary and relevant information from Inland Fisheries Ireland before carrying out any works near, or on, a watercourse.

“IFI encourage members of the public to report incidents such as this, and those of water pollution, fish kills, and illegal fishing to its 24/7 phone number, 0818 34 74 24.”

Landowners can refer to further guidance from Teagasc on minding Ireland’s watercourses.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has welcomed the outcome of its prosecution of Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) for chemical discharges to the Ballymacraven River in Ennistymon, Co Clare in May 2023.

At Ennis District Court on Friday 16 February, Uisce Éireann was fined €10,000 and must pay €8,477 in costs in connection with the case.

The incident last summer caused the death of an estimated 2,000 fish.

Deceased species included a large number of eel, along with salmon, trout, rudd and flounder, of all ages.

IFI’s in-depth investigations led to the instigation of legal proceedings against Uisce Éireann, with court procedures concluding on 16 February.

Uisce Éireann accepted liability for discharge of deleterious matter from the Ennistymon Water Treatment Plant on two separate dates in May 2023.

Commenting on the verdict, David McInerney, director of IFI’s Shannon River Basin District said: “The impact of the discharges from Uisce Éireann’s water treatment plant resulted in a very significant fish kill over 2.6km of the river.

“It created a devastating impact on an ecosystem that supports vulnerable salmon and eel stocks. The court was told the incident was an ‘ecological tragedy’.

“It is critical that Uisce Éireann ensures that adequate systems and processes are in place to prevent any such event recurring. We welcome the improvements made to date, and future improvements to be made at this plant.”

IFI reminds the public they can report instances of fish kills, pollution, fish in distress, habitat destruction or illegal fishing by calling its confidential 24/7 number at 0818 34 74 24.

Judgement has been reserved in campaigners’ legal bid to overturn the decision to approve the excavation of gas storage caverns under Larne Lough.

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the coalition of local campaigners — under the banner of No Gas Caverns — and Friends of the Earth NI took their case to the Court of Appeal after their application for judicial review was dismissed last August.

Among their claims, they say that hyper-saline discharges from the excavation process would create a marine wildlife “dead zone” in the lough.

They also contended that Edwin Poots — then minister at the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) — was required to seek consent from the NI Executive before green-lighting the project in November 2021.

Counsel for DEARA, however, insisted that Poots had legal authority to act unilaterally in his decision to award the marine licence to Islandmagee Energy, a subsidiary of Infrastrata-owned Harland and Wolff, for the excavation of seven 1,350m-deep caverns with an intended storage lifespan of 40 years.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

The inquest into the death of a solicitor who drowned in Dun Laoghaire Harbour has returned an open verdict, as The Irish Times reports.

The body of 54-year-old David Montgomery was found by his wife and brother in the water near his boat on 10 October 2022.

Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard that Montgomery has been stressed by an issue with the Law Society — which the High Court heard last year was an investigation of his family’s legal practice over a €1.7 million deficit in a client account — and had on the day of his death seen a case “going badly”.

Montgomery was also not in the habit of wearing a personal flotation device when working on his boat moored in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the inquest was told.

Gardaí added that that they were satisfied that his drowning was a “tragic accident” but the coroner, Dr Clare Keane, returned an open verdict absent enough evidence to conclude that his death was accidental, intentional or due to misadventure.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

AmericaOne Foundation has released a statement in response to US Sailing’s lawsuit alleging harmful practices, describing the accusations as “unfathomable”.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, three high-profile departures from US Sailing last year — Paul Cayard, Bill Ruh and Jose Leandro Spina — were named in the lawsuit by the governing body for sailing in the United States.

The body’s complaint alleges actions that have “harmed athletes, the US Sailing Team, and US Sailing’s business and reputation with donors, sponsors, competitive sailors, and the larger sailing community and Olympic movement”.

However, AmericaOne’s response outlines what it says are the reasons behind Cayard’s and Ruh’s departures — and claims that any damage incurred by US Sailing by the withdrawal of donors and sponsors are of its own doing.

“Because donors contribute based on trust and confidence, when this team [of Cayard, Ruh and the coaching staff] resigned, it was no surprise that many donors withdrew their support and commitments,” it says.

The full statement is available on the America One Racing website HERE.

The governing body for sailing in the United States has filed a lawsuit against a competitor organisation for alleged harmful practices, as Marine Industry News reports.

US Sailing’s official complaint claims accuses America One Racing of attempting to misleadingly represent itself as the de facto governing body for sailing in the country.

America One Racing was founded as a development programme for competitive sailors following a series of high-profile departures from the US Olympic Sailing Programme last year — including executive director Paul Cayard, United States Sailing Foundation chairman Bill Ruh and performance Director Leandro Spina.

US Sailing has named all three in its lawsuit, alleging that their actions have “harmed athletes, the US Sailing Team, and US Sailing’s business and reputation with donors, sponsors, competitive sailors, and the larger sailing community and Olympic movement”.

The body alleges interference with its business relationships that have cost it more than $4 million in funding, and is seeking more than $5 million in damages.

Marine Industry News has more on the story HERE.