Connect with us
Annacotty Fish Passage Project Annacotty Fish Passage Project

community

Public meeting held to discuss Annacotty Fish Passage Project 

Published

on

Annacotty Fish Passage Project hopes to improve access to fisheries habitat on the river Mulkear.

The meeting highlighted potential solutions to the problems that the weir is causing for Ireland’s fish populations

Annacotty Fish Passage Project
Members of the Inland Fisheries Ireland team mission is, “to protect, manage and conserve Ireland’s inland fisheries.”

A well-attended public information meeting was held in Limerick to make more people aware of the Annacotty Fish Passage Project and to highlight potential solutions to the problems that the weir is causing for Ireland’s fish populations.

Almost 60 people turned out for the meeting at the Castletroy Park Hotel, which was organised by Inland Fisheries Ireland. Attendees included members of the public, representatives from community groups, local angling clubs, Annacotty residents, government departments, state agencies, and environmental organisations.


advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement



Public representatives also attended the event, including Deputy 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 survival rates for species such as wild Atlantic salmon, lamprey, wild brown trout, and eels. 

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.

Alan Cullagh, a Fisheries Development Inspector with Inland Fisheries Ireland, talked about how the problems could be overcome and what solutions were being used in Ireland and internationally to improve fish passage at barriers

Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development with Inland Fisheries Ireland, 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.”

An Interagency Group for the Annacotty Fish Passage Project has been set-up which includes representatives from Inland Fisheries Ireland, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Limerick City and County Council, the Office of Public Works (OPW), the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) and the ESB. 

More information about the Annacotty Fish Passage Project is available HERE 

For more stories on Annacotty Weir go HERE 

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.