Poaching a major issue on Grand Canal in Tullamore

POACHING has become a major issue on the Grand Canal in Tullamore.

A recent video in which a local fisherman confronts a number of men fishing along the banks of the canal went viral among many fishing clubs around the country. According to a spokesperson for Tullamore fishing club over 90% of those who saw the video were fully behind the man's actions. ''The fishing community get very angry over this,'' said the spokesperson.

Those who fish in the canal are required to return the fish back alive into the water. A sign placed at the start of 'Fiona's Way' in Tullamore clearly states this and has multiple translations into other languages.

The local spokesperson said, ''those same people have been reported many times. They live nearby. They are targeting the same water over and over. That man in the video had no idea they were down there. Someone was walking their dog and saw the fish lying on the grass and told him.''

The video shows that when approached, the fishermen at first deny they have caught any fish. However, when the man takes up one of the bags and turns it over a number of fish fall onto the grass.

''They are taking a lot of fish from the canal, especially a species called Green Tench. The canal is short of Tench. Tench fish are highly prized by all the anglers. They put them on a high pedestal. When people learn to fish, they love to catch Tench. They are available only a couple of months of the year and they hibernate the rest of the year. The whole lot should have been thrown back in. The canal system takes a lot more time to recover. Anglers have respect for fish stocks, they understand there is a lot more damage if they take from a smaller area,'' said the spokesperson.

''When I started out, the fishing was fantastic. I run competitions and I teach youngsters, I can see the stocks are gone really low.

''There are signs up by Waterways Ireland asking members to return the fish alive and they are in all the main eastern European languages. The people who do this are well aware of what they are doing.''

The spokesperson said in other cultures they eat a lot of coarse fish and people from other countries often take a lot of fish in Ireland that will not be restocked.

''In the Polish system anyone who wants to go fishing has to have a rod licence. They have to sit an exam about the legislation. All the money from licence fees are used to restock the waters.''

The spokesperson went on to say restocking the waters is a funding issue in Ireland.

''Inland Fisheries Ireland works hard around the clock, seven days a week around the country. They patrol the Shannon and lakes. They would have a large area to cover and there wouldn't be enough of them.''

If caught fishing illegally by a fisheries officer, the fine is €150 and all the person's fishing gear is confiscated. If they pay the fine within 21 days their equipment is restored. If not they could end up in court and receive a fine of up to €600 and their equipment is not returned.