A proposal by the Southern Regional Fisheries Board (SRFB) to remove the controversial Lacken Weir on the River Nore in Kilkenny city has been condemned by anglers as "a non-runner".
Luke Boyle, president of the Kilkenny Anglers' Association (KAA), said it "would turn the river into a cesspool with only a few inches of water" on the city centre stretch of the Nore.
The suggestion is believed to be one of three solutions being considered by an Office of Public Works (OPW) review committee to remedy earlier engineering works when the river bed was lowered during a €48 million flood-relief project.
Anglers claim that since the project ended in December 2004, salmon are having difficulty negotiating the heightened weir as they travel up the river to spawn. Angling clubs claim that up to 25 per cent of spawning stock is being lost on one of Europe's most important salmon rivers.
Weirs incorporate "passes" to enable the passage of migratory fish.
Every year salmon return from the Atlantic to spawn in Irish rivers.
The main run takes place between November and January. An estimated 5,000 salmon destined for the Nore leave the sea off Waterford. Many pass through Kilkenny city and north to traditional spawning beds.
If this journey is disrupted the life of the salmon and future stocks are put at risk. In addition to salmon, trout and lamprey eels on the Nore are also affected.
Anglers have temporarily suspended a threat of legal action against the OPW pending the outcome of the review but have insisted that the works be carried out this summer to prevent further difficulties when the next major salmon run begins in November.
The OPW review is considering submissions from interested parties but has not yet announced a date for a public information day when it will present its proposed solution.
The fisheries board believes its proposal, which also involves the removal of the nearby Ormond Weir, to be "the most effective method of resolving the problems of salmon migration".
Chief executive officer Brian Sheerin argues that the weirs are no longer functional as they do not generate power and play no role in controlling flooding.
But if the weirs are removed, there would be a dramatic lowering of the water level in the Nore, with significant aesthetic consequences.
The stretch of river lies directly beneath Kilkenny Castle. Kilkenny local authorities would almost certainly oppose such a solution.
At an Oireachtas joint committee hearing last January, OPW chairman Seán Benton said: "When OPW was designing the flood relief scheme, we were advised by the local authority that they required the water level in the river through the city to be maintained at pre-scheme levels."
The second option being considered by the review is a proposal by the KAA to remove an allegedly unsuitable Denil fish pass, designed by the Department of the Marine, and replace it with a rock ramp pass.
The third option, which Mr Boyle said would "cost a lot of money", involves the construction of a new weir down-river. t
This would raise the water level below Lacken Weir and ease the passage of fish.
