Following a competitive tender process launched earlier this year, O’Connor Sutton Cronin (OCSC) were appointed as the consulting engineers to undertake a range of technical assessments and prepare an options report for fish passage improvement works at Annacotty Weir on the lower Mulkear River outside Limerick.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is leading the Annacotty Fish Passage Project as the State agency with responsibility for fish in rivers such as the Mulkear.

The consultants’ options report will consider all environmental and engineering circumstances that are present at the site. OCSC have undertaken a number of assessments over the last few months, with a view to preparing an options report in early 2024.

The options report will be based on several environmental and technical surveys, using a recognised decision matrix, together with a stakeholder decision matrix. The options report will be presented to the public for consideration by all stakeholders with a view to bringing a proposal forward for planning permission.

In advance of any permanent works taking place, IFI had planned to carry out temporary works during the summer with the aim of improving passage for eels and lampreys. However, high water levels hampered attempts to install these measures, and water levels remained too high since IFI received the materials.

The proposed temporary works follows advice from specialists within IFI’s research division which suggests the installation of bristle mats and lamprey tiles will help facilitate eel and lamprey passage.

IFI says it plans to install these measures when water levels are at a suitably low level to allow safe access to the weir to install the materials.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has launched the tender process to appoint a consultant engineer to prepare an options report for fish passage improvement works at the Annacotty Weir on the lower Mulkear River outside Limerick.

IFI is leading the Annacotty Fish Passage Project as the State agency with responsibility for fish in rivers such as the Mulkear.

The options report must consider all environmental and engineering circumstances that are present at the site, upstream and downstream of the weir.

Anyone interested in this tender is advised to register on the eTenders website to access all tender documentation including the scoping document and service requirements.

The deadline for submitting tenders is 5pm on Tuesday 14 March and can only be done via the eTenders website.

As detailed in the tender documents, the options report is to be based on several environmental and technical surveys, using a recognised decision matrix, together with a stakeholder decision matrix. The appointed consultants will then present a preferred option for fish pass improvement works at Annacotty Weir.

The consultants will also be required to attend project meetings and public consultation meetings to outline their findings to stakeholders.

Following the approval of the preferred option, the consultants will then be required to prepare design, calculations and drawings of the preferred option.

These will be sent to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the OPW (Office of Public Works) for licences and approvals.

The consultants will be required to prepare a planning application of the preferred option for Limerick City and County Council.

Subject to planning permission being granted, the consultants will be required to prepare construction drawings and tender documents for the hire of a construction company. They will also be required to assist IFI in the tender assessment process.

The consultants will then be required to oversee the construction phase of the preferred option and sign-off on the completed project.

For full details see the the eTenders website HERE.

Nearly 60 people turned out for the public information meeting organised in Limerick by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) earlier this week to raise awareness of the Annacotty Fish Passage Project and highlight potential solutions to the problems that the weir is causing Ireland’s fish populations.

Attendees on Tuesday evening (23 August) included members of the public, representatives from community groups, local angling clubs, Annacotty residents, Government departments, State agencies and environmental organisations.

Public representatives also attended the event at the Castletroy Park Hotel, including Kieran O'Donnell TD, Cllr Seán Hartigan and Cllr Elena Secas.

The weir at Annacotty has been classified as a “significant barrier” to fish, negatively impacting on survival rates for species such as wild Atlantic salmon, lamprey (sea, river and brook), wild brown trout and eels.

At Tuesday’s meeting, IFI’s Brian Coghlan, a research officer with the National Barriers Programme, gave a presentation about how the weir acts as an artificial ‘barrier’ to certain fish species and the resulting problems for their life cycle.

Annacotty Weir on the lower Mulkear River outside Limerick | Credit: IFI

Alan Cullagh, a fisheries development inspector with IFI, talked about how the problems could be overcome and what solutions were being used in Ireland and internationally to improve fish passage at barriers.

Finally, a panel discussion took place with questions from the audience, involving Coghlan and Cullagh along with fisheries inspector Catherine Hayes and fisheries environmental officer Jane Gilleran, both also with IFI.

Closing the session on Tuesday evening, Suzanne Campion, IFI’s head of business development said: “The Annacotty Fish Passage Project is a very important project to improve access to fisheries habitat on the River Mulkear and it is heartening to see the public interest in this project.

“As we highlighted at our public information meeting, we are seeking the views of the public to help inform the most appropriate solution for improving fish passage at Annacotty. This along with environmental and technical assessments will enable us to put the preferred option forward for planning permission.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is inviting the public to attend an information meeting about the Annacotty Fish Passage project at the Castleroy Park Hotel in Limerick this coming Tuesday evening 23 August.

Last year, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan announced that IFI would lead the Annacotty Fish Passage Project as the State agency responsible for the protection and conservation of freshwater fish and habitats such as the Mulkear.

This week’s public information meeting is being organised to make more people aware about the project at the weir and to encourage as much engagement as possible with stakeholders right across the community, including key State agencies, special interest groups, voluntary, public and private sectors.

The Mulkear is considered a vital river for a range of fish species including wild Atlantic salmon, sea, river and brook lamprey, wild brown trout and eels.

Most of the main river and its smaller tributaries in the catchment are designated as a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive.

However, the weir at Annacotty has been identified as a ‘significant barrier’ to the free movement of several fish species. Last December more than 10,000 people signed a petition supporting the weir’s removal, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

In the last year, IFI says it has completed an assessment of the weir structure to quantify its fish passability and has undertaken title research to identify the owners of land and structures potentially impacted by the project.

It also secured €99,481 in funding under the Salmon and Sea Trout Rehabilitation, Conservation and Protection Fund in May of this year. This funding will be used to support the assessment and planning phase of the project to find the most appropriate solutions for fish migration and passage along the Mulkear. Environmental, technical and engineering assessments will also be funded.

Annacotty Weir as seen adjacent to The Mill Bar | Credit: IFI

At Tuesday’s meeting, the public will have an opportunity to find out more about the potential solutions being assessed to improve the passage of fish through the weir.

Ahead of the public meeting, IFI’s Suzanne Campion said: “The Annacotty Fish Passage Project is under way. We’re in a crucial phase of the project, which is to assess and evaluate the most appropriate solution for improving fish passage at Annacotty. This will enable us to reach another crucial phase: seeking planning permission.”

She added: “It’s great to see that there is growing public interest in this project. We’re organising this public information meeting on August 23rd to engage as many people as possible in the conversation about what happens next at the Annacotty weir to help improve passage for fish.”

Online registration for the free event, from 6pm at the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick, is available via the IFI website HERE.

The works on Annacotty Weir are part of a pilot project to assist with the design and implementation of a national barriers restoration programme currently being progressed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in collaboration with a range of State bodies.

The Interagency Group for the Annacotty Fish Passage Project includes representatives from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications; Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; Limerick City and County Council; Office of Public Works (OPW); National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS); Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO); and ESB.

More information about the Annacotty Fish Passage Project and the upcoming Public Information Meeting is available at www.fisheriesireland.ie/annacotty.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) says it is “greatly encouraged” by the growing public support for addressing problems around the movement of fish at Annacotty Weir.

More than 10,000 people have signed a petition to remove the weir on the River Mulkear outside Limerick that is blocking migratory fish, as The Times reported at the weekend.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, IFI has identified Annacotty Weir as a “significant barrier” to the free movement of several fish species including wild Atlantic salmon; sea, river and brook lamprey; wild brown trout; and eels.

The weir has been designated as “high priority” for fish passage improvement and IFI says it has begun works on “a very significant project to address the movement of fish at the weir”.

The State agency for Ireland’s inland and inshore fisheries adds: “We have applied for funding to the Salmon and Sea Trout Rehabilitation, Conservation and Protection Fund to support the next major phase of the project.

“If this application is successful, we will go to tender for services to help deliver the technical, engineering and planning elements of the Annacotty Weir project. Public engagement arrangements will also form part of tender requirements.

“We have completed an assessment of the weir structure to quantify its fish pass-ability and has also undertaken initial title research to identify the owners of land and structures potentially impacted by the project.”

IFI says it has engaged with key State agencies and semi-State bodies “to ensure all relevant government agencies are actively involved in the project from the outset”.

In the New Year, the next phase of the project “will involve extensive stakeholder and public engagement, to ensure that all stakeholder views are captured to form part of the planning process.

“The vision that Inland Fisheries Ireland shares with all stakeholders and the public is to make the River Mulkear easily accessible to fish species, just as nature had intended,” it says.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is to lead on the Annacotty weir fish passage improvement project, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has announced.

Annacotty Weir on the lower Mulkear River outside Limerick has been identified as a significant barrier to the free movement of several fish species including wild Atlantic salmon; sea, river and brook lamprey; wild brown trout; and eels.

The majority of the main river and its smaller tributaries in the catchment are designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.

Minister Ryan, who has responsibility for inland fisheries, said: “Free passage of fish is key to the sustainability of our precious fish stocks and the protection of biodiversity along our rivers.

“This project will help protect the Mulkear as one of our most valuable river habitats. I am delighted that Inland Fisheries Ireland will lead this project, and that their in-house expertise on fish passage mitigation will ensure it is delivered to the highest standard.”

IFI says it will progress these works as a pilot project in collaboration with various State agencies and key stakeholders “through the multiple phases involved in improvement of fish passage at the weir”.

This pilot includes the design and implementation of a national barriers restoration programme currently being progressed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and which is expected to be announced in the draft River Basin Management Plan to be published shortly.

It will also be an opportunity “to test a collaborative and ecology-focused design approach towards informing similar future mitigation projects” as well as evaluate “enhanced community engagement opportunities that go beyond the standard consultation practices involved in the planning process”.

IFI chief executive Francis O’Donnell added: “Ensuring the free passage of fish is a main priority for our agency as we conserve and protect our inland fisheries resource.”