Cathaleen's Falls at Bally shannon in Co Donegal is one of those indelible landmarks on the map of cross-Border co-operation.
Salmon and eel know no borders. Long before the Belfast Agreement was a rough draft, discreet initiatives were being taken to manage the lucrative fisheries in both jurisdictions.
One such initiative is to be confirmed today when the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, shakes hands with his counterpart, Lord Dubs, at the falls in Ballyshannon, and they announce details of an £800,000 cross-Border eel restocking programme for the Erne.
It is the second recent interstate project on the waterway. The first, a £1.77 million salmon enhancement programme, has also depended on outside support. The EU Interreg and Peace and Reconciliation funds and the USbacked International Fund for Ireland have provided most of the finance. But smaller initiatives have also been taking place.
The Northern Regional Fisheries Board has been at the forefront of such work for about a decade. Understandably, its manger, Mr Harry Lloyd, has not courted publicity. "Once you do, you can be accused of having an agenda. We've found the best bet is just to get on with the job."
Also "getting on with the job" has been the Foyle Fisheries Commission, which was first cited by former Northern Secretary Sir Patrick Mayhew as the model for North/South co-operation.
Established in 1952 with executive powers, the commission was the outcome of the second piece of parallel legislation undertaken by the British and Irish governments this century. It also resulted from one of the State's longest court cases.
The case was over fishing rights in the Foyle, which washes the shores of both jurisdictions. On October 13th, 1948, the President of the High Court ruled that the rights were not private property.
The court upheld the case taken by 80 Donegal fishermen against a private British consortium, known as the Irish Society, which had claimed rights dating back to the Plantation of Ulster.
The commission in Derry has a permanent staff involved in administration, protection and management of one of the richest stretches of water on this island. Its board comprises representatives nominated by the two ministers. However, a recent review of its operations drew it into the sort of controversy it has always shunned, when Donegal fishing co-ops questioned its democratic nature and voiced opposition to a proposed extension of powers to commercial sea fishing.
If common catchment management for the Foyle, Erne and Ulster Blackwater is a practical necessity, it has now been underpinned by the provisions in Strand Two of the Belfast Agreement. A cross-Border angling tourism initiative has also been taken by the Northern Regional Fisheries Board. Common ground on salmon management has been explored in several ministerial meetings, and the Northern authorities are said to favour the tags and quotas system proposed by the Republic's salmon management task force.
There are some fault lines, though, such as the bureaucratic nature of inland fisheries management in this State. An unpublished Price Waterhouse study commissioned by the last government identified confusion, duplication and waste of resources in the State's marine management structure.
A separate report, compiled by the Comptroller and Auditor General and published late last year, highlighted "poor planning" in overall management of the State's 357,000 acres of freshwater lakes and 8,600 miles of river. Since then, the Central Fisheries Board has published a five-year plan.
On aquaculture there is also scope for the sort of co-operation that has already been taking place on shared waterways, supported by agencies such as Bord Iascaigh Mhara. The Northern Irish market is ripe for exploration by Irish salmon farmers. Speaking in the Dail recently, Dr Woods also outlined other areas of mutual benefit, such as offshore exploration - specifically, the expertise offered by Harland and Wolff - and air/sea rescue.
Significantly, the omission of sea fisheries from the settlement document has been greeted with relief by commercial sea fishing representatives, who have good relations with Northern counterparts - helped by the reciprocal fishing arrangement known as voisinage. "Absolute good sense" is how the Irish Fish Producers' Organisation greeted the news, pointing out that the EU's Common Fisheries Policy is causing enough conflict with other member-states.