Sir, - The chairman of the Irish Salmon Growers' Association continues to deny the obvious and well established link between salmon farming and the sea trout collapse along the Western seaboard (June 22nd). Fortunately, the Government, which is in receipt of a stack of scientific reports on the subject, is not persuaded by his argument and is engaged in the difficult task of attempting to control sea lice levels on salmon farms with the objective of solving the sea trout catastrophe. This is without doubt the greatest environmental disaster to have hit our country and its outcome will be a key determinant of whether our politicians place real value on environmental issues and on the preservation of Ireland's clean green image.
To date there are only two areas of the country in which a clear cut sea trout recovery has taken place. One of these is Lough Currane where lice control - on the adjacent fish farm at Deenish is far and away the best in the country. The other is the Gowla and Ballynahinch fisheries which run into Bertraighboy Bay. For the last three years, the farms in this bay have been completely fallowed in the critical spring period in which young sea trout first migrate to sea and become exposed to lice infestation.
Despite the introduction of regular monitoring and the facilitation by the Departments of the Marine and Agriculture of trial licenses for new lice treatments, lice control on a substantial majority of Mid Western salmon farms during this year's critical spring period has been woefully inadequate and much worse than that of preceding years. There is therefore, serious cause to doubt whether these farms will ever be able to achieve the necessary level of control.
It would be too much to expect salmon farmers to admit responsibility for the sea trout collapse. After all, tobacco companies continue to deny the link between smoking and lung cancer or cardiovascular disease. The real question is whether those who continue to deny responsibility for an event can be made to clean up their act by voluntary means, and whether the Government has the balls to put the Green agenda first and to really get tough with the transgressors. - Yours, etc.,
Chairman, Save Our Sea Trout, Windgate Paddock,
Windgates, Bray.