Dear MemberSince the last newsletter, a lot of activity hastaken place at Slaney River Trust. I will begiving a full report at the Annual GeneralMeeting. The purpose of this Message is tohighlight briefly the most importantdevelopments.The redd counts conducted by the EasternRegional Fisheries Board over the winterwere most encouraging. At just over 1800redds, this was the best result in 14 yearsand augurs well for the future of the Slaney’ssalmon stock.In August the Slaney River Foundation

held a Golf Classic at the K Club whichraised €31,000 for the Slaney. Our thanksare due to all who helped organize thisevent, particularly to Jerome Kennedy,Chairman of the Foundation and hiscolleagues.Our Interreg project will finish at the end of

April. It originally commenced in September2004. In that period we will have spent atotal of €409,000, of which Interreg grantstotaled €252,000. I would like to pay tributeto the support we received from the CentralFisheries Board and the Eastern RegionalFisheries Board, whose staff carried outmuch of the vital task of habitat works.Without that support the Project could neverhave been such a great success.The Environmental Committee had a very

active year investigating potential pollutionincidents on the river. It is also focusingclosely on one of the major future threats tothe river – the abstraction of water atRathvilly to supply Carlow, which is growingrapidly and is in a completely different river

catchment. In its activities the Committeeworks closely with the Environmental Officerof the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board.All four of the above are described in much

greater detail in reports in this newsletter.Looking to the future, it is imperative that

members adhere to the catch and releaseregulations governing angling on the river in2008. We recently conducted a survey ofmembers regarding their views on whetherthe river should be open or closed. Amajority were in favour of the river beingopen – for details on this and on the 2008Regulations see the back page. A number ofcomments were also received withmembers’ ballots. These have all beennoted and, where possible, will be acted on.We are optimistic that a full counter will be

installed on the river in 2008 or 2009. TheERFB will be commencing a radio-trackingsurvey of salmon in the river this year.Collection of this type of information is vitalfor the protection of salmon stocks in future.We will also be conducting furtherinvestigations of the potential to improvesalmon passage at Clohamon weir.I would like to mention that Andrew Willis

left us at the end of June to take up a careeras a journalist in Buenos Aires, Argentina.He did an excellent job as Project Officerand we wish him well in his new career ( seephotograph on back page ). John Carrollhas taken on the role of Acting ProjectOfficer on a temporary basis.Finally, I would appeal to all members to

attend the A.G.M. on the 19th. April at 7.30pm in Redmonds, Main St., Bunclody.Enclosed herewith are: Notice of A.G.M.,Accounts, Reminder on Subscriptions.

Derek NallyChairman

Message from the Chairman

Slaney River Trust represents angling clubs, anglers, fisheryowners and environmentalists on the River Slaney and aimsto protect and enhance the ecology, fisheries and riparianwildlife of the Slaney Valley.

March 2008

Inside thisissue:

Golf Classic at the K Cluborganised by Slaney RiverFoundation ..............................Page 2&3

2007 Survey ofJuvenile Salmon Stocks ..............Page 4

Interreg Project - Summary ........Page 5

2007 Spawning Season................Page 6

Environmental CommitteeReport ......................................Page 7&8

The Slaney Silver Diamond ..Page 8&9

South East River BasinDistrict Project............................Page 10

Ladies Flyfishing Classes ........Page 11

SRT News....................................Page 12

PAGE 2

Golf Classic at the K ClubNotwithstanding other attractionson the 8th August last, such as theAga Khan Trophy Competition atthe RDS and annual holiday time,some 140 golfers participated inthe Golf Classic on the SmurfitCourse at the K Club in the firstfund-raising exercise organised bythe Slaney River Foundation.

Sean McManmon, who is aDirector of the Foundation, hadfirst raised the possibility of havinga fund-raiser at Straffan and wasable to get us the opportunity torun the Classic at the K Club. Anenergetic organising Committeewas established, favours werecalled in and people coerced intosponsoring a team or teams offour players at a notinconsiderable cost for each team.In the end, 35 teams participated.In addition, people were asked tosponsor a tee, a green or simply tomake a donation. The responsewas overwhelming and ourgratitude is extended to all.

The first players teed off on apromising looking day at 9 o’clock,with the last team setting out at aquarter to four. Unfortunately theweather turned in the afternoonand those who started their roundafter about one o’clock got prettywet by the time they were ready forthe nineteenth hole. We werehowever lucky enough with theweather as the course had beenclosed the previous weekendbecause it was waterlogged; whodoesn’t remember last year’s so-called summer!

Handicaps of the golfers rangedfrom scratch all the way up thescale and whilst some may havebeen daunted at the prospect ofthe K Club challenge (14 balls lostby one player!), everyone seemedto have enjoyed the outingenormously.

Betty Hayes, John Carroll and SimonMcCormick

Seán O’Brien (Capt), Dennis Byrne, RoryDeane, Eugene Ryan.

Owen McManus (Capt), Maeve Danagher,Tommy Flynn, Michael Nash.

Conor O’Dwyer (Capt), Edward Dillon, BrianRoss, and David Sheehan

Nick Byrne (Capt), James Conway, PatHandwick, Pat St. Ledger.

Anthony Ensor (Capt), Jamie Ensor, DonaldHardman, Richard O’Connor.

As we had so many participants, itwas not possible to have a shotgunstart where all players would havestarted at the same time at all 18 holesand completed their rounds atapproximately the same time. Thatmeant that we could not have a prizegiving dinner when all participantswould be present. We did howeverhave a running lunch and supperbuffet throughout the day and many ofthe teams who were out late stayed onfor the awarding of the prizes by ourChairman, Jerome Kennedy. The scoreswere very close, but the eventualwinning team with 89 points wassponsored by Clody Norton andcaptained by Anthony Ensor. Teamscaptained by Don Godson andMichael Moriarty came second and

third. Individual prizes were wonby Paul Donnelly, Attracta Doyleand Mark Collins.

It would be invidious to single outparticular people for praise, butone cannot help mentioningpeople like Sean O’Brien whoorganised a number of teamsand sponsors from the SlaneyValley, Seán McManmon, whohimself organised a number ofteams and sponsors, JohnCarroll and Andrew Willis whoseenthusiasm and organisationalskills helped us keep up to themark, and Jerome who amongstother things organised the prizes.Most importantly however wewould like to thank all those whocontributed so generously by way

of sponsorship and donation.

In the Team photos, Captain isdenoted by (Capt) and other teammembers are in alphabeical order.

The Foundation cleared in excessof €31,000 and this will be used tosupport the work of Slaney RiverTrust in the future. The Foundationhas been granted a Charity numberand we are hopeful that this willencourage both private andcorporate donations in the yearsahead.

Simon McCormickDirector and Secretary,Slaney River Foundation Limited

organised by Slaney River FoundationPAGE 3

Kevin Keegan (Capt), Mark Collins, JohnKestell, Brian Murphy.

Don Godson (Capt), Neville Atkinson, PeadarO’Farrell, Harry Sheridan.

Michael Moriarty, Eoghan Clear, David Moore.

Jerome Kennedy congratulating Anthony Ensor and members of histeam which won the event.

Jerome Kennedy presenting individual prizes to Paul Donnellyand Attracta Doyle.

September saw staff from the Central and Eastern RegionalFisheries Boards electrofishing sites throughout the Slaneycatchment to assess the status of juvenile salmon stocks. TheSlaney catchment has been surveyed eight times (1990/91,1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2007) over the pastseventeen years.

Using salmon fry (fish spawned in winter 2006/7) density as anindex of spawning activity, results were generally satisfactoryfrom the three spawning sites sampled in the main Slaneychannel (upstream of Baltinglass). The highest fry and parrvalues (0.5/m² and 0.14/m²) in the main Slaney were recordedat Seskin Bridge in the Glen of Imaal, but overall fry values inthe main channel sites were lower than had been recorded atany time in this decade. Salmon parr numbers were within theprevious range.

On the larger tributaries which, combined with the mainchannel, comprise the majority of the spawning area in theSlaney system, results were generally satisfactory. Two siteson the Derreen, where juvenile salmon densities are moderate(Fig. 1) and good respectively, were consistent with previousyears. Salmon fry and parr densities were high (0.84 and0.13/m²) in the Derry River site but not as high as theexceptional densities recorded in 2005. The Bann wassampled at Camolin and fry and parr densities were in themiddle and lower range respectively of values recorded sincethis programme commenced. The Boro is a sea trout river butsalmon fry numbers were significantly higher than previousyears where the highest density since 1995 was recorded.Another sea trout river, the Urrin consistently has moderate frydensities and 2007 yielded a similar result.

In the medium-sized channels results were mixed. Instreamworks have been carried out in various channels and resultsfrom the regular site (downstream of works) on theCarriggower showed a moderate improvement, althoughjuvenile salmon densities have not returned to the high levelsrecorded in 1997 and 2000. A very high fry density of 0.79/m²,the highest on record, was recorded at Douglas 2 – instreamworks downstream of the sampling site are likely to havecontributed to this result. Parr densities remain static at this

site. No juvenile salmon were recorded onDouglas 1 despite the improvement toaccess for upstream adult migrants.Salmon densities in the Clody Rivercontinue to decline having peaked tomoderate levels in 2003. The Knickeen isa consistently productive channel and the2007 result fell within the range recordedpreviously. Fry and parr densitiesexceeded all previous records for theGlashagh, where densities in 2007 werein the moderate to high range.

In summary, the Slaney survey revealedsome underperformance in the main channel in 2007compared to recent years, although densities weresatisfactory. Two of the main tributaries (Derreen, Derry)continue to be consistent production units. Several of themedium-sized tributaries are producing good numbers ofjuvenile salmon but the Carriggower and the Clody areunderperforming compared to results from previous years.

These results have to be considered in the context of theSlaney salmon redd count of 530 in the winter 2006/2007,which was amongst the lowest counts recorded within the pastdecade. The 340% increase in the total redd count in winter2007/2008 (Kelly pers. comm.) should be reflected by elevatedjuvenile production in 2008 and beyond, with obvious benefitsfor the long-term future of salmon in the Slaney. The 2007juvenile survey also occurred prior to the possibility ofobserving the positive effects of the closure of the Irish drift netfishery or the Slaney salmon fisheries closure in 2007.

Dr. Willie RocheFisheries Biologist, Central Fisheries Board

PAGE 4

2007 Survey of Juvenile Salmon Stocks

Spawning area on the Slaney main channel upstream ofBaltinglass

Bucket of juvenile salmon and trout from electrofishing surveyprior to returning to river

Fig. 1: Population estimates and 95% Confidence Intervals for salmon fry (pink) andsalmon parr (blue) for the years 1995- 2007, * indicates minimum density.

Derreen River Hacketstown Derreen River Hacketstown

Est

.den

sities

m2

Est

.den

sities

m2

PAGE 5

Interreg Project - SummaryThe Interreg Project commenced inSeptember 2004 and finishes nextmonth. Now is a good time to look at themajor items of expenditure under theProject, how the expenditure wasfunded, and to assess the benefits of theProject.

Total expenditure was €409,000 overthree and a half years. This was fundedas follows. Interreg grants amounted to€252,000. Angling clubs, riparianowners and Slaney River Trust itselfprovided total cash of €52,000. TheCentral Fisheries Board and the EasternRegional Fisheries Board provided€105,000 as In Kind (i.e. the cost of timespent by their employees on InterregProject work).Without this Fishery Boardsupport the Project could not have takenplace.

The two most important items ofexpenditure – accounting for 79% ofproject cost were as follows:

• Habitat works / improvement ofspawning streams. €86,000 wasspent on hire of machinery andpurchase of materials such as rocks,gravel and timber. Fisheries Board InKind accounted for €74,000, whichrelated to surveying the streams, theactual habitat works, electrofishingsurveys etc. For detail see MartinKelly’s report on p. 6.Total expenditureunder this heading was €160,000.

• We have been fortunate to have hadtwo outstanding Project Officers: AlexKelly and Andrew Willis. In a Projectas complex as this the role of theProject Officer has been crucial. It isnot only the organization of all thedifferent sub – projects, but there isalso, in any EU grant programme, ahuge amount of recordkeepingrequired under the terms of the grant– detailed accounts, comprehensiveproject files, constant liaison with ourWelsh partners etc. Project Officersalaries totaled €113,000. Travel,

telephone and other office expenses,insurance and audit fees amounted toapproximately €50,000.

There were a number of smaller sub-projects which accounted for the balanceof expenditure - €86,000. Mentionshould be made in particular of thefollowing:

• seven fishing / casting classes,involving instructors from the Centraland Eastern Regional FisheriesBoards and also Glenda Powell, wereheld during the Project and provedvery popular

• promotion of the potential of Catchand Release of salmon as aconservation measure

• Joe Caffrey, Botanist with the CentralFisheries Board, carried out extensiveresearch on the problem of invasiveplants on the river, especiallyHimalayan Balsam

• a webcam will shortly be installed onthe river which relays constantpictures of water colour and height toour website. Interreg funded theconstruction of the website which willbe updated during 2008.

• two studies were conducted duringthe course of the Project. Oneexamined the feasibility of buying outthe estuary draft nets. The otherlooked at the many complex legal andtax issues involved in setting up theSlaney River Foundation. It led to theRevenue Commissioners approvingthe Foundation for charitable status, afirst for an environmental organizationof its kind.

• A number of Seminars andCommunity Initiatives were held. Themost important was the Conferenceon ‘Salmon Stock Restoration andRivers Trusts” held in February 2007.Over 160 people attended. There

were many distinguished speakersfrom the world of salmonconservation.Seminars were also held on the topicsof: fishery management, powers ofwaterkeepers, the campaign to enddriftnetting.

• The Eastern Regional FisheriesBoard provided substantial In Kind for‘environmental monitoring’, part-icularly to ensure pollution incidentsdon’t occur. As the report on p.7points out, Slaney River Trust’sEnvironmental Committee worksclosely with the Board’sEnvironmental Officer.

• Mentoring of new rivers trusts onseveral rivers in Ireland

The essence of the Interreg Ireland –Wales programme is the transfer oflearning and experience between thepartners in both countries. We havebenefited on numerous occasions fromthe experience of our Welsh partner,Pembrokeshire River Trust. They havetold us the same is true on their side.

Looking to the benefits, Paul Johnstonin his excellent December 2002 report ‘ARecovery Plan for the Slaney SalmonFishery’ made a number ofrecommendations. Practically all of themhave now been implemented in whole orin part. The substantial expenditure onhabitat works coincides with (for 2007) arecord number of salmon on thespawning beds. This should greatlyassist growth in stock levels in future.Slaney River Trust is actively seekingfurther EU funding to continue thedevelopment programme on the river.Should this not become available, theSlaney River Foundation will hopefullybe able to generate an alternative sourceof sustainable funding.

John Carroll,Acting Project Officer,Slaney River Trust Limited

SalmonDue to conservation measures introduced in 2007

there was no angling for salmon and sea-trout on theSlaney. The commercial draft net fishery was alsoclosed .Fish were in much better condition in 2007 i.e. little

evidence of fungus on the flanks of fish comparedto previous years. The salmon appeared to be muchbigger in size also.

Redd count ended up at 1801 which now standsas the highest recorded since counting began somefourteen years ago. Lets hope we have a successionof good years from here on in, at least this year is astep in the right direction.In the four years,1994 to1997, the average count

was 1,229. However from 2003 to 2006 respectivelythe four year average dropped to 628 redds.In terms of spawning the Slaney has made a

significant improvement. In 2003 the number of reddsplummeted to 335. The number now stands at 1801.The early run of salmon appeared earlier than

normal. However the bulk of spawning was muchlater (approx 2 weeks behind the norm). This wasprobably due to summer water levels andexceptionally mild weather this season. Salmon wereseen running through Clohamon at a time when onewould have expected that most fish would havecompleted the spawning process in the upperreaches. The late run, combined with low water, alsocontributed to the huge increase in redds in themiddle reaches i.e. downstream of Baltinglass.On one tributary, Little Slaney, where we had

undertaken bank revetment works, we now find a bigincrease in spawning numbers.This may be linked tothe above works as the gravels are practically silt freenow compared to pre enhancement works.There are equally big improvements at Coolmoney

Camp downstream where 60 tonnes of gravel wereplaced at selected locations. Comdt. Derek Hanleyonce again organised the supply of necessarypersonnel, excavators, dump trucks etc. to facilitatethese instream enhancement works.The Derry R. is going from strength to strength

regarding the number of spawning fish in theTinahealy area at Coolatin. The National Parks &Wildlife Service opened up this river channel fouryears ago by removing dead trees which had fallenacross the river. Excessive bank side vegetation wasalso removed thereby improving the river hydrology.There is now plenty of well oxygenated silt freewater running through the salmon eggs in the gravelbeds.Derreen R, which flows through Hacketstown,

showed an increase in spawning numbers. Howeverby comparison with its neighbouring river thisincrease is negligible.We carried out significant enhancement works

over a distance of 2km in the Rathcoyle area wheresix new spawning stretches were created byimporting hundreds of tonnes of spawning gravelsand also boulders for bank protection. Six salmonwere seen on one of the newly created spawningbeds this season. The Heritage Council supportedthis project financially.The Clody R. continues to be poor however the R.

Boro had reasonably good numbers of salmon redds.The National Parks and Wildlife Service assisted

us by speedily authorising the enhancement work atRathcoyle so as to avail of the Heritage Council grant.A number of landowners were, initially, hesitant aboutparticipating in the works. However after muchdeliberation this problem was overcome. We weregrateful to all concerned that the enhancement workswere allowed to proceed to the benefit of everybody.

Sea TroutWe saw large shoals of sea-trout in the Boro and

the Urrin rivers. The fish were much bigger thanusual. No doubt the conservation measures helpedhere.

Interreg ProgrammeThis programme was set up three and a half years

ago and now draws to a close. Rivers like theDerreen, which previously had badly eroded riverbanks, are now colonised with a rich growth of bankside vegetation.This is due to the works carried out ofunderpinning with pine logs and Christmas tree tops.The banks are naturally rebuilding themselves with alush growth which will also improve biodiversity of thearea and the spawning gravels are well oxygenatedwith silt free gravels.Dr Martin O’Grady and Dr Willie Roche gave

technical advise. Stephen Byrne and his teamcarried out the works.We wish to thank John Carroll who was Project

Coordinator on the Interreg project for his help andsupport throughout the years.

EnforcementUsual patrols were undertaken however no

evidence of illegal activity.

Radio Tagging ProgrammeThis year a radio tagging programme is to get

underway to track individual salmon to theirrespective spawning grounds . This will enhancescientific information on spring salmon.

Martin Kelly,Inspector, Eastern Regional Fisheries Board

PAGE 6

2007 Spawning Season

Working downstream from Source. H.W. Denotes high water

MMaaiinn SSllaanneeyy 9944 9955 11999966 11999977 11999988 11999999 22000000 2001 22000022 22000033 2004 2005 2006

Various Bridges

Forde--Seskin 8 6 12 24 8 0 20 H.W. 29 4 23

Seskin--Ballinaclea 103 84 71 110 122 48 57 88 39 15 61 50 42

Ballinaclea--Kelsha. 87 15 19 111 98 48 54 113 39 13 31 54 23

Kelsha--Gibstown 53 19 11 50 68 13 29 46 18 7 5 29 11

Gibstown--Iron br H H.W. H.W 19 7 0 61 H.W. 4 0 2

Iron br--Ballyhubock 80 38 52 52 34 43 43 61 26 15 11 34 15Ballyhubock--Georges br 56 21 27 73 38 12 15 30 H.W.5 5 11 19 5

Georges br--Waterloo H 20 9 5 8 6 0 7 H.W. 1 2 2

Waterloo--Building br H 13 6 11 14 9 0 21 H.W. 2 0 15 2

Building br--Manger 80 128 84 108 98 18 20 25 H.W. 7 12 18 7

Manger--Tuckmill 26 100 28 67 81 49 28 4 56 11 0 34 35

Tuckmill--Eldon 54 34 27 39 66 37 43 105 H.W. 7 34 62 21

Eldon--Baltingglass 35 H.W H.W. 24 32 17 75 10 H.W. 4 0 5 6

Baltinglass--Kilmurray 72 212 189 80 186 143 H.W19 155 H.W. 62 82 111 62

Tullow

Totals main Channel. 654 690 523 742 888 458 383 746 H.W.183 153 278 435 254

Tributaries Slaney 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Carrigower 31 120 64 84 65 104 94 172 POOR H.W. 15 29 41 35

LittleSlaney 9 HH..WW.. 9 12 24 1 30 65 8 29 27 23

Derreen 95 253 122 105 119 108 102 231 45 49 104 85 66

Derry R. H.W 70 HH..WW 246 HH..WW 112 47 H.W. 14 228 H.W. 65 167 232 108

Clody R. 62 79 37 HW. 25 1 0 3 7 2 4 3 9

Douglas 2 HW. 6O HH..WW HH..WW.. 79 46 65 52 54 H.W. 15 27 53 27

Glassheavy 3 11 HH..WW.. 22 11 4 4 4 H.W. 2 4 0 H.W.

Boro 94 84 85 16 34 27 12 29 32 5 29 60 H.W.

General D. Stream. 7 3 7 H.W. H.W. 3 3 H.W.

Bann 109 252 0 126 43 HH..WW.. 39 7 52 45 H.W.

Urrin R. 7 10 7 NA. H.W. H.W. 4 6 10

Douglas 1 7 17 8 29 13 6 6 5 H.W. 2 0 8 7

Total Tribs. 540 564 837 360 575 413 314 837 H.W.84 170 452 563 285

Total redd counts main river and tributaries.

Total Slaney System 1 1194 1254 1368 1103 1463 871 877 1583 H.W. 335 701 998 530

2007

54

149

93

50

8

68

30

8

8

16

91

23

6

204

808

2007

43

84

127

349

17

55

15

106

19

147

10

7

14

993

1801

An environmentalist is one who seeksto protect the natural environment as fromair and water pollution, wasteful use ofresources and excessive humanencroachment. As a Committee we havestriven to achieve these ends during thepast year with special regard to the SlaneyRiver, its tributaries and surrounds.

The task of protecting the River Slaneyis infinite. Every week we have foundinstances where, because of disregard forthe law or from pure carelessness, therehas been resulting pollution of its waters.We have tried hard to prevent thishappening and in this we have beengreatly assisted by the EnvironmentalProtection Agency and the EasternRegional Fisheries Board.

The release of raw or improperlytreated sewage in to the River Slaney,whether it be from an over-burdenedmunicipal treatment plant or as a result ofdevelopers not installing plants on theirsites as instructed when seeking planningpermission or from partially treatedeffluent escaping from sites where themaintenance and operation of their privateplant is inadequate, is an ongoingproblem. Not only does this result incontamination of the River but it may havefar reaching effects especially with regardto health and safety. For this reason wehave concentrated a great deal of effort intrying to prevent pollution from thesesources.

The EPA now have wide powers whenit comes to environmental enforcementand on the one occasion we approachedthem regarding potential pollution of theRiver with raw sewage their response wasimmediate and had far reaching results.

During the past year we have forgedeven closer ties with the Eastern RegionalFisheries Board and in particular with Mr.D. Byrne who deals with theirenvironmental matters. He has alwaysresponded to our concerns and we owehim a debt of gratitude for all the work

which he has done in trying to assist us insafeguarding the river.

From time to time we have had fearsexpressed regarding aspects ofcontamination that might occur. We havefollowed these up wherever we can. Onesuch instance was the Rampere Landfillsite at Baltinglass, from where it was feltthat pollution of the River was takingplace. Our Committee inspected this sitein great detail and can now allay anyanxieties, as this operation is managed tothe highest of standards and there is nocontamination from it.

The capping of Baltinglass weir and theproblems of the weir at Clohamon are alsobeing dealt with.

A major concern is the extraction ofwater from Rathvilly which is used toservice the ever-growing population ofCarlow.This is not properly monitored andour Committee feel that, when the river islow, the amount of water taken should begreatly reduced. Because of this we havebrought our concerns to the EPA who arearranging to meet with some of ourmembers to discuss and, where possible,address the problem.

It is impossible for a few to be the eyesand ears of the whole river. We wouldtherefore ask all anglers and any whohave regard for the well-being of theSlaney to report to a member of ourCommittee if they see or hear of anythinguntoward. We will do our best to deal withthe problems.

Jill Mellon, Director and SecretarySlaney River Trust Limited(Tel: 053 9376105)

PAGE 7

Environmental Committee Report

Pollution incident

Slaney Otter

Slaney headwaters Salmon spawning on clean gravel

PAGE 8

The SlaneySilver

Diamond

Slaney Sea Trout (“WhiteTrout”) Natures most

gifted survivor

Our magnificent Slaney sea trout(‘White Trout’) is a migratory formof the familiar wild brown troutfound throughout the generalSlaney system. The sea trout(‘parr’) are indistinguishable fromtheir resident cousins. Trout parrthat are destined to become seatrout remain in fresh water for aperiod of 1 to 3 years, but mostwill migrate to sea as silverysmolts after 2 or 3 years,depending on local conditionsand food resources.

Sea trout may spawn many timesthroughout their lives with adultsea trout laying between 1,000and 5,000 eggs. A largeproportion of sea trout that returnto fresh water after their firstsummer at sea will not spawn butmay go on to spend up to 5 yearsfeeding at sea returning eachseason to spawn.

Growth is rapid in the sea withmany fish attaining body weightsof 0.45 – 1.36kg (1lb – 3lb) withintheir first year. Older Slaney fishhaving spent longer periods atsea may obtain weights of 1.8 –2.7kg (4lb – 6lb) and will begin toreturn in early May - June with thesmaller fish returning from midJune for the remainder of theseason.

The Slaney ‘White Trout’ oftenreferred to as the poor cousin ofthe famous Slaney salmon doesnot deserve this description. Kgfor kg (lb for lb) they are thehardest fighting fish on theseislands. Unlike some forms oftraditional salmon fishing, flyfishing for the Slaney “WhiteTrout” demands a high level ofskill and know how. The wily seatrout weighing in the region of 0.9– 1.36kg (2lb – 3lb) will more thantest the fly fishing skills of mostsalmon anglers.

Closing of the entire Slaneyfishery in 2007 to rods andespecially estuary netting, hasreturned increased numbers ofmulti season sea trout throughoutthe entire system and is verywelcome news for the future. It iswell known that most of themature Slaney sea trout nevermade it to their respective

Slaney Catchment Map

A

River Urrin January 2008

spawning grounds, and indeed most‘White Trout’ that I have encounteredover 40 years of fishing the Slaneyand its tributaries for this mostremarkable fish have been clearly netmarked.

Fly fishing for sea trout during daytimeis an extremely delicate art form thatonly dedicated anglers will havedeveloped over time. White trout areeasily spooked as they are shy andsecretive creatures especially in theearly part of the season. Local dry flypatterns size 12 – 14 can be deadly inclearing water, but the angler musttake great care not to create adisturbance and use all availablecover whilst fishing from a distance.

Slaney ‘White Trout’ are a veryprecious and prized catch and nightfishing has a special attraction all of itsown. To witness these bars of silverdisplay their agile and gracefulacrobatics in the air at dusk and dawnis a magic sight to behold, and withgreat anticipation and heightenedsenses the keen angler fishing smalllightly dressed flies in the runs at thetail of pools and glides, may suddenlyexperience the very best fightinggame fish in Irish waters.

As with the salmon, the numbers ofsea trout returning to their spawninggrounds are falling year on year. Thechallenge for Slaney trout and salmonanglers alike is to protect this mostunder rated game fish. It is essential toidentify true stock status, maintainsmall tributaries and implement arobust sea trout conservation strategywith appropriate “Rules &Regulations” for the entire riversystem.

On the upside, it is easier toobtain a faster build up of seatrout stocks in a river systemlike the Slaney as theexploitation at sea is morepredictable and can in timebe controlled through goodstock management.Encouraging anglers to fishfor sea trout properly togetherwith catch and release willfurther help the recovery ofstocks. And only then can weexperience once again thereturn in numbers and size ofthis most valuable resource.

The Eastern Regional FisheriesBoard, to their great credit, havecarried our extensive and well thoughtout access works to the lower reachesof the river Boro and on the RiverUrrin. I understand this work is set tocontinue for the benefit of localcommunities, inorder to develop themany tourismo p p o r t u n i t i e sassociated withgame angling.ERFB will be doingwork on the RiverBoro in 2008 toclear overgrownvegetation andbankside trees. Seatrout also run in themain channel of theSlaney as far asBunclody and in theSow.

For information on where to fish andhow permission/tickets can beobtained, contact the EasternRegional Fisheries Board or localtackle shops.

Experienced and concerned anglerswill play this silver diamond ‘Naturesmost gifted survivor’ very carefully andrelease it gently to its wild habitat so tocontinue its cycle for the enjoyment offuture generations to come. ERFB isvery keen to develop scientificinformation on seatrout stocks.Currently there is little available.

It’s up to all of us to play our part.

‘Think Sea Trout’ – Do nottake them for granted.

Ken DoddDirector, Slaney River Trust Ltd.

PAGE 9

Scarawalsh Bridge

River Bann January 2008

River Boro January 2008

Good progress has been made over thelast 12 months and all Water FrameworkDirective (WFD) deadlines were met. Infact in an interim review of theimplementation of the WFD by theEuropean Commission late last year,Ireland was being held up as anexample of best practice and was placedat the top of the implementation table.

However, we have a very tight timeschedule for this year and a lot of workto get done. The public participation,Significant Water Management Issuesreport, called “Water Matters” waspublished last year. By the closing datefor submissions of the 22nd December2007, we had received 23 submissionsfrom various bodies and individuals.These submissions are being compiledand responses prepared at present asthey will form part of our draft RiverBasin Management Plan (RBMP).Whenready they will also be placed on ourwebsite. If you did not get a chance tocomment or make a submission you willhave a further chance under theconsultation period for the draft RBMP. Itwill be published on the 22nd December2008 and will have a consultation periodof 6 months until 22nd June 2009.

The preparation of this draft plan is ourmain goal for 2008 and a guidancedocument is due out from theDepartment of the EnvironmentHeritage and Local Government soon.

The many WFD related studies, onprograms of measures to improve ourwaters, being carried out by the variousriver basin projects and the EPA are dueto report by the end of March. Thesestudies will form a major part of theRBMP, while we are also looking at waysto integrate the RBMP with CountyDevelopment Plans, WasteManagement Plans, Heritage Plans etc.

As part of our public participationobligation under the WFD we held aseries of public meetings last November.Although these were advertised by wayof letter to over 120 water and

environmental groups in the south east,adverts in local radio and in localnewspapers, attendances were poor.This was also the experience in theother river basin districts. None the less,the interaction and discussions withthose that did attend was excellent andthe output from these meetings will alsogo towards shaping the RBMP. As weprogress work on the draft RBMP thisyear and during its consultation in thefirst half of 2009 we will be holding afurther series of public meetings andhopefully attendances will improve.

We also held meetings with all ourconstituent local authorities to both keepthem up to date on our progress andalso to flag the enormous burden ofwork which will fall to them as a result ofthe RBMP.

Further information on the river basinproject may be obtained from ourwebsite at www.serbd.com or from theoffices of the project at Liddiard House,Burrin Road, Carlow (059 914 3618).Wealso send out by e-mail, a simplenewsletter every 2 monthsapproximately on our work and onissues which we feel may be of interest.If you would like to receive this e-mailnewsletter please send an e-mail torspain@carlowcoco.ie.

Ray SpainProject Coordinator,South Eastern River Basin District

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South Eastern River Basin District Project

The Slaney near Aghade

ClohamonWeir

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Ladies Fly-Fishing Courses - 2007‘A huge part of any real success islearning something new in theprocess’, this is certainly true of theLadies Fly-Fishing Courses run by theEastern Regional Fisheries Board andsponsored by the Slaney River Trustthrough the INTERREG IIIAprogramme that took place on the 21stJuly, 12th August and the 7th October2007.

Initially, one course was planned butdue to the phenomenal andunexpected response received, twofurther courses were organised tocater for the demand. All courses wereheld in the Wicklow area in AnnamoeTrout Fishery and Rathcon Fisheryand attracted more than 40 womenfrom all over the country. Instead of afee to cover instruction, participantswere invited to give a donation toAction Breast Cancer. All participantswere extremely generous and the totalcontribution raised from all threecourses was €2,765.

The introductory courses offeredparticipants the chance to learn fromone of the best instructors in Ireland,Glenda Powell assisted by MarkCorps, Angling Advisor for the CentralFisheries Board, Betty Hayes, EasternRegional Fisheries Board member andrepresentative for Slaney River

Foundation and Glenda’s husband, IanPowell. Indeed, the fact that the courseinstruction was led by a femaleinstructor proved to be one of the mainreasons women signed up for thecourse.

The Eastern Regional Fisheries Boardran a successful media campaign priorand post each event in order to createawareness for the courses and topromote angling to a female andgeneral audience. Substantialcoverage was achieved in print andbroadcast media in the Irish TimesSaturday magazine, Irish Timesangling column, Sunday World anglingcolumn, Star on Sunday anglingcolumn, Wicklow People, GoreyGuardian, Irish Daily Star, InshoreIreland, Irish Angler’s Digest, RTE 1Nationwide and RTE Radio 1seascapes.

I was delighted to be involved in theproject and it proved that women areinterested in learning to fly-fish if theopportunity is provided to them. Iwould like to sincerely thank JohnCarroll of Slaney River Trust, theinstructors: Glenda Powell, MarkCorps, Betty Hayes, and Ian Powell, to

Loop for providing the fishingequipment and finally to Dermot Pageof Rathcon Fishery and Brian Nally ofAnnamoe Trout Fishery for going thatextra mile to make each event amemorable and enjoyable day out forboth organisers and participants.

Hazel DobbynMarketing Officer,Eastern Regional Fisheries Board

Carmel Benson 1st fish: Carmel Bensonfrom Wicklow with the 1st fish caught atthe August Ladies event in RathconFishery.

Fiona Grant 2nd fish caught: FionaGrant from Limerick proudly holds thesecond rainbow trout caught at theOctober Ladies flyfishing course inRathcon Fishery.

Pictured at the first Ladies Fly-fishing course at Annamoe Trout Fishery, Co Wicklow arefrom left to right: Front Row: Anne Leonard, Marie Doyle, Glenda Powell(Instructor),Anne Curran, Caroline Chew, Roisin O’Toole. Back Row: Mark Corps (Instructor),Claudia Walther, Lorraine Nolan, Jocelyn Tanner, Martina Michels, Andrea Fahrmeyer,Fiona Grant, Angela Leeson , Elizabeth Jones, Rosalind Watson

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crprint.ie 053 92 35295

Andrew Willis in Buenos Aires

Incredible persistence of salmon, here Pacific Salmon returning tothe spawning grounds. Note the many salmon on the right of theroad.

General Information• If you would like to support Slaney River Trust please send

a cheque for €35 (made out to Slaney RodfishersAssociation) to the Hon. Treasurer: David Dobbs, TheCottage, Killoughter, Ashford, Co. Wicklow

• The Slaney River Foundation is planning to hold anotherGolf Classic in 2009. For information, please contact Simon

McCormick, Hon. Secretary, on 087 – 4170608 orsimonmccormick@eircom.net.

• STOP PRESS: The first salmon to be radio tagged wascaught at Clohamon on March 13th. After the first week offishing it appears that salmon stocks are lower than usual.Around 17 salmon were reported caught, some as small as4 - 5 lbs. However, a 14 lb. salmon was caught at Moyadieon March 12th.

Results Of QuestionnaireIn January members’ views were sought about thedecision by the Minister for Communications,Marine and Natural Resources to introduce a Catchand Release Policy in respect of salmon and seatrout fishing on the R. Slaney for 2008.

Members were asked to tick one of the following:- there should be a Catch and Release Policy for

2008- there should be a Catch and Take Policy for

2008- the R. Slaney should be closed to fishing for

2008In all, 281 ballot papers were distributed and 182valid papers were returned. The results were:- Catch and Release. 91 ( 50% )- Catch and Take. 38 ( 21% )- Closed River. 53 ( 29% )

Summary – Salmon And Sea TroutRegulations For 2008 – R. Slaney

• Catch and Release applies to all salmon and sea trout• Single, barbless hooks must be used• Ban on the use of worms.• The fish should be handled carefully and should not be

removed from the water prior to release.• If there is any abuse of Catch and Release, the Eastern

Regional Fisheries Board will request the Minister to close theriver

Obituary NoticeThe death of the following members is reported with regret:

• Leslie Bryan - Peter Reynolds - Richard Keatinge

Slaney River Trust News