Irish Extra – March 2023
It seems to be an all-too-common occurrence at this time of year and it has happened again, A river in Crumlin, County Antrim in Northern Ireland has been suspected to have been poisoned with slurry. The latest of several incidents in the area, the local angling club arrived to find over 30 dead fish on a 100yard stretch and suspect it could be up to 1000.
David Kennedy from Crumlin and District Angling Association said the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) informed them of a “potentially serious slurry incident on the river” on Sunday. He said that when members of the Angling Association arrived to the scene the “colour of the water was very murky with the pollution.” “It is a big loss,” said Mr Kennedy. He stressed that the river in Crumlin is normally very healthy and that significant effort is put in to keep the waters clear. A joint investigation has been launched between the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Northern Ireland Environment agency.
In August last year, the river in my local area suffered a similar fate. I was exercising the dogs with my daughter on a Sunday afternoon when one returned with a small trout. I thought nothing of it at the time until we found several more and then realised something was not quite right. A day or so after it was discovered it had been contaminated with slurry. The effects of these spills have a detrimental effect on not only fish but all the way up and down the food chain and the knock-on effects on other species are tremendous.
A common phrase in Ireland to herald the coming of spring is “There is a quare stretch in the evenings” which translated means the days are getting gradually longer! With this “Quare stretch in the evenings” comes for me an opportunity to brush up on dog training. People with Lurchers often talk of their dogs “resting up” over the summer, something I have never really done, in fact I use it as an opportunity to keep them fit and improve their fitness and by the time Autumn rolls around, they are fit as they can be. It is a time for mornings on the beach with lure machine, or some evenings along the river with the Teckels either blood tracking, retrieving or anything to keep them occupied, fit and busy. It is in some ways sad to see another season gone, January takes the birds and February takes the rest with the Deer, but these long evenings are something I enjoy. There is something special about long summer evenings, raking about here and there and maybe taking a dog or two to the pub on a Saturday evening!
I read with some interest recently on the increase in Curlew numbers in Northern Ireland. There dramatic increase was being discussed on a news programme by the RSPB and on an area they are involved with. The use of electric fences was highlighted as being one of the key elements in the success of the bird. I waited with bated breath for someone to discuss the control of predators or the fact that there is also a full-time game keeper on the area who has obviously through his consistent work in vermin control, greatly assisted the increase in numbers but alas, they forgot to give it a mention. Electric fences will to some degree increase the chances of a nest hatching, however what they failed to point out and what many members of the public won’t know is that Curlew chicks are up and running within a short space of hatching and from that moment an electric fence is absolutely useless as they can and I have witnessed them travelling two or three miles in a short space of time. From eggs that are larger than one might expect and that look almost prehistoric in their dark green colours, hatch these tiny, fluffy and helpless young chicks are now at the mercy of a wide range of predators on the ground and from the air and it is blatantly obvious that good predator control is assisting the numbers. It was for all intents and purposes a somewhat misleading piece that ignored the real facts and led the watcher into believing that a mere electric fence was the reason for the increase. That aside, it is fantastic to see such an increase in Curlew numbers with thanks to predator control and correct land management, long may it continue but I do feel the fact should not be brushed aside because it is felt to be inconvenient.
The season has barely ended and the game shooting fraternity are in full swing with their own conservation projects. I saw many shooters assisting in the NARGC annual bird count, as well as erecting nesting tubes, starting to dust off and operate Larsen traps and work hard on their own predator control. I often give thought to this work which for the most part goes unseen and is often a bone of contention with members of the public who do not understand it. The simple facts are that gun clubs right that exist in every parish in every county in Ireland do an unmeasurable amount of conservation annually in terms of predator control and assisting in the breeding of many species of birds far beyond would is considered quarry species. Where have the people so vehemently opposed to anything to countryside done their conservation work? I haven’t saw their bird count results, nesting tubes, vermin counts or campaigning for the protection of ancient hedge lines for the protection of birds, it appears to have gone missing. I read a rather bizarre comment online a few days ago when an “Animal Rights Activist” claimed that she would rather see Irish Hares go extinct than for organised Hare coursing to continue. The same Hare coursing that is licensed, regulated and has been proven to be of benefit to Irish Hares and their numbers.
A Black Water Salmon first for 2023
It appears I missed the first salmon by the skin of my teeth last month. I kept an eye out before and after but saw no mention of the first Salmon of the year. I mentioned this tomy father only yesterday and said there had been no Salmon yet to which he quickly replied there had been on and it was on the Black Water on the 1st February and I should know these things if I am responsible for writing about them! On further research it appears Mr. Ray O’Dwyer from Lismore, Co. Waterford was fishing Careysville Fishery near Fermoy, with the river running slightly below normal level for the time of year, when he hooked a fish just after noon. The fish took a tube fly, and was fresh in from the sea, with sea lice still attached. Weighing 6.25lbs, this is the first salmon of 2023 in Ireland.
Until next Time…Tight lines!