(click on the relevant link below to go to the story) NOTE: The news section is currently not being updated > River Pollution > Introduction of concessionary licences for Disabled Anglers > Decline in the marine survival of salmon > Salmon Carcass Tagging Scheme > Routine check by officers of commercial nets on the Co Down coast > Fish Pass at Benburb > Review of the FCB > Fish Kills > The new FCB patrol boat - Vigilare River Pollution The Board carries out agency work on behalf of the Environment & Heritage Service of the Department of the Environment. This involves:   » Routine river monitoring    » Pollution investigations within waters in the Board's area. Valuable wild fish stocks are lost on a yearly basis as a result of pollution and the photograph below clearly shows that fish deaths of all ages and sizes occur after a typical farm pollution.   Pollution into waterways can be Agricultural or Chemical the photographs below show the damage which can be caused to the rivers.   The foam and suds had risen to a height of over 5 feet and had completely covered the river in a thick white blanket in places 30 – 40 feet wide            Introduction of concessionary licences for Disabled Anglers The Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland, with the approval of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has introduced concessionary rod licences for Disabled Anglers from 01 January 2002.   You may apply to the Fisheries Conservancy Board NI for a concessionary Game Fishing Rod licence and permit or a concessionary Coarse Fishing Rod licence and permit if you are in receipt of one of the following allowances: - Disability Living Allowance - Attendance Allowance - War Disablement pension - Severe Disablement Allowance   Application for a concessionary licence may be made by completion of an application form available from the Fisheries Conservancy Board NI Headquarters or from the Secretary of your local Angling Club.  The completed application form and the appropriate remittance must be forwarded to FCB Headquarters, 1 Mahon Road, Portadown, Co. Armagh BT62 3EE.   Cost for 2003. A Concessionary Game Season Rod Licence will cost £5.00 A Concessionary Coarse Season Rod licence will cost £5.00   Please ensure that you allow time for the Fisheries Conservancy Board NI to process your application.   Disabled Anglers can now apply to the FCB for a Disabled Anglers permit to fish any Public Angling Estate or apply to: Department of Culture Arts and Leisure, Inland Waterways and Inland Fisheries, 3rd Floor Interpoint, 20-24 York Street, Belfast BT15 1 AQ   If you require an information leaflet on concessionary licences for Disabled Anglers, please contact   Fisheries Conservancy Board NI 1 Mahon Road Portadown Co Armagh BT62 3EE Tel 028 38 334666.   Information leaflets are available in a large print version.    Decline in the marine survival of salmon On 25 October 2000, scientists from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development gave a presentation to the Board highlighting the dramatic decline in the marine survival of salmon over the past two years and recommended that the introduction of precautionary measures to reduce exploitation of salmon stocks should be considered. In order to discharge its statutory duty to conserve and protect the salmon fisheries within its jurisdiction, the Board has a responsibility to put forward recommendations which, upon the basis of the available information, it considers represent the most effective and equitable means of implementing a  precautionary approach to the long term maintenance of stock sustainability. Accordingly, after very careful consideration of the issues raised by the various stakeholders during consultation, at its meeting on 11 December 2000, the Board decided to recommend to the Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure that; 1. a two year moratorium on all commercial fishing for salmon should be implemented within the Board's jurisdiction together with a restriction on angling for salmon to the practice of "catch and release" for a similar period. 2. appropriate compensation should be paid to those who suffer financial loss as a result of the implementation of these proposals and the Board would urge the Department to  seek funding for this purpose as a matter of urgency. 3. the position should be reviewed at an appropriate time in the light of the scientific  evidence then available. The Board recognises the serious implications of the implementation of such precautionary measures to reduce the exploitation of salmon stocks to all those concerned and is grateful for the constructive attitude of all those who participated in the consultation process. In determining its recommendations, the Board has endeavoured to take account of the scale of the reduction in exploitation which would be effective while striving to ensure an equitable distribution of restriction. At its meeting on 11 December, the Board was advised that the Northern Ireland Assembly has approved the award of £150,000 in grant aid to the Board for the year 2001/02. Details of the award are not yet available but it is understood that it is intended to provide funding to enable the Board to undertake additional responsibilities which have been placed upon it. While warmly welcoming the provision of grant aid, the Board remains strongly of the view that the provision of full core funding is essential to enable it to discharge its statutory responsibilities efficiently and effectively. While the basis for the provision of the grant aid has not yet been confirmed, it is likely to include funding for the implementation of the Salmon Carcass Tagging Scheme which the Board hoped to implement with effect from 1 January 2002. Preparations for the implementation of the Scheme will now continue. However the date of implementation of the Scheme will form part of the discussions which the Board expects to have with the Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure in relation to its recommendations for the conservation and protection of the salmon fisheries within its jurisdiction. At the time of writing, the Fisheries (Amendment No 3) Byelaws (Northern Ireland) 2000 are before the Northern Ireland Assembly for approval. These Byelaws designate the number of waters as Rainbow Trout Waters and increase the licence duties payable from 1 January 2001. The Board is unable to print the licences for 2001 until approval is received. It is therefore unlikely that the new licences will be available from 1 January 2001. The Board regrets any inconvenience which this may cause to anglers or to its distributors. While continuing to advance its case for the provision of core funding, the Board has a responsibility to ensure that the resources which are available to it are used to best effect. In pursuit of this aim, the Board proposes to introduce changes to its operational structure by reducing the size of its management team and increasing the number of field staff within a team structure. Consultations are underway with staff representatives and it is hoped to introduce the new arrangements as early as possible in 2001.

Salmon Carcass Tagging Scheme

The Fisheries Conservancy Board NI is pleased to announce that funding has been made available by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure for the implementation of the Salmon Carcass Tagging Scheme.

With effect from Tuesday 01 January 2002 all commercial and recreational salmon catches must be tagged and the catch recorded in a logbook. The Scheme will apply to:
                                                                all salmon 
                                                                     and 
                                                         sea trout over 50 cm

The tag to be used by Anglers is a blue plastic self-locking device embossed with a code identifying the region in which the tag was issued and the tag number.

The Angler will be required to record the catch on a daily basis at the end of each fishing trip (before midnight of each day) in the logbook provided.

For full information on the Scheme, please contact

Routine check by officers of commercial nets on the Co Down coast.

Fish Pass at Benburb

After months of hard work the fish pass at Benburb is now fully operational as shown below

The board welcomed DCAL's confirmation that a new Review of the Board is to be undertaken. The terms of reference of the Review are wide ranging and should allow all relevant issues to be considered. The Board again emphasised the need for the provision of core funding to enable the Board to carry out its functions effectively.


 

The board noted the number of fish kills which had occurred since its last meeting with disappointment and concern. The Board emphasised the need for ongoing education on the prevention of pollution and improvement in water quality. The Board will continue to strive to provide an effective response to all such incidents.

Fish kill on the Ballynahinch River. Fish Kills - 2003 Date River Estimated Number of Fish Samples Taken 14/01/03 20/03/03 22/03/03 15/04/03 30/04/03 07/05/03 28/05/03 09/06/03 09/06/03 09/06/03 07/06/03 10/06/03 10/06/03 26/06/03 Unnamed /B'derry  Coppies River Inver River Bann (Hilltown)  Lagan Loch Head Enler River Blackwater(Killinchy) L Neagh  Clonmakate River River Blackwater private pond Macosquin  Portna Lough Drumaness River  211b/t + 18 salmon TBA 300-500 b/trout /salmon TBA 20-25 b/trout Appox. 150 roach/bream  Approx. 50 trout fry 11 small b/trout Approx. 12 bream Approx. 472 bream  4 roach + 10 fry Approx. 150 b/trout 1 pike, 10 roach, 10 bream Approx. 500 b/trout+ eels   Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes

The new FCB Patrol Boat

The FCB's new patrol boat, Vilgare (shown below) was recently  launched.