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.
