Madam, - Your Editorial of August 11th, "Saving the Salmon" was good in parts. But some of the statements are very misleading, e.g. "Many of the best salmon-fisheries were located in rich farmland and were owned by hotels or by people with Anglo-Irish antecedents."
What is the relevance of this? Very many or our finest fisheries are in the West of Ireland, where "rich farmland" is difficult to find. "Hotels and people with Anglo-Irish antecedents owning and operating salmon fisheries."
Basically, this semi-political concept, apart from a few isolated cases, went out with the Ark. The bulk of salmon taken in fresh water are now taken by members of the many salmon-angling clubs which flourish on important rivers. Certain of the best rivers, the Shannon and the Erriff, for instance, are now owned by State or semi-state bodies. Of course there are still a few "private" fisheries, but almost all of these are available by daily ticket.
It is just a joke to imply that "hotels and the Anglo-Irish" are somehow implicated in the disastrous decline of salmon. To quote your Editorial: "80 per cent of the catch is taken by commercial fishermen, with 20 per cent going to anglers". If that is the case, then there is little point in banging on about hotels and the squirearchy.
I am Irish and have had 20 years' experience in operating a large and productive stretch of the salmon river, for local rods and visitors alike. Netting in our estuary was extensive, but not completely uncontrolled. I agree with most of what appears in your article, but not with the rather snide remarks to which I've referred. - Yours, etc.,
PETER DEMPSTER,
New Vale,
Shankill,
Co Dublin.