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.”
