Sir, - In reply to the letter of Donal O'Shea of Clare Island (October 14th) may I say, as Ronald Reagan said to Jimmy Carter long years ago - there you go again. The same old, defensive arguments from those whose way of life is fish farming. And the same old emotive arguments about "jeopardising so many livelihoods".
Let me tell Mr O'Shea a few facts, of which he may not be aware. I have fished sea trout all along our north west coast here - rivers, lakes, estuaries, rock and sea shore - with my rod, for the past 50 years. My father had done so for 50 years before that. That's a century of fishing sea trout in their natural habitat. In August 1957 I caught 18 sea trout in the channel waters that run between Dernish Island and Moneygold, in North Sligo, in half an hour. I released all of them that were half a pound or less. This year, fishing the same waters for days on end, I caught none. This was the sea.
In September 1973, I caught ten sea trout while fishing from the rocks in Streedagh, in north Sligo. I released all those of a pound or less. Since 1973, I have never caught a sea trout in that place.
All this talk about extreme low flows, and drought summers, and adequate water flows during droughts, does not explain the disappearance of the sea trout for those of us who fish as I do. Fish farming has put an end to the sea trout, and sea fishing for trout as I have known it. - Yours, etc.,
Grange,
Co Sligo.