Salmon trapped in the Bann
In the final part of a four-part series, she looks at how a storm is brewing in a famous salmon fishing river in County Londonderry.
In the final part of a four-part series, she looks at how a storm is brewing in a famous salmon fishing river in County Londonderry.
It is not just land that is privately owned in Northern Ireland.
The River Bann has been in private hands for almost 400 years.
They argue that the weir at Carnroe is too high and the pool below too shallow for salmon to swim through and into the local fishing waters of the angling clubs.
Maurice Dorrity: "Anglers aren't getting to catch fish at the proper times" |
Maurice Dorrity, a member of the 600-strong Moyola Fishing Club, said they worked hard all year round trying to boost salmon and trout stocks in the river, but they got little in return.
"Anglers in these rivers aren't getting to catch fish at the proper times which should normally be around June or July," he said.
Stale
Angling Ireland magazine writer Frank Quigley supports the anglers.
"They may not see a fish at all in a season if it's a dry summer," he said.
"Or they may see fish at the very end of the season, in the last couple of weeks of October, and by that time the fish are stale.
"They're what we call black fish and any self- respecting angler wouldn't kill them.
"So really they're putting in the work and somebody else is taking the harvest and that is not fair by any stretch of the imagination."
 The salmon were depleted every year, they were getting more and more scarce  |
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Norman Doherty Moyola Fishing Club |
But this is not a straightforward problem.
The River Bann is privately owned by The Honourable the Irish Society, a charitable organisation based in London.
It was set up in the early 17th Century to organise the plantation in Londonderry.
Fishing rights on the river are operated for the society by Bann Systems Limited.
The weir at Carnroe is in one of the best salmon beats in Ireland and to fish there would cost about £200 a day.
Bann Systems are responsible for the weir and they insist it works perfectly well.
In a statement, the company said: "The Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland has always advised us that this fish pass is adequate."
But the board told the BBC that they had applied to the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure for funding to carry out a fresh survey of the weir.
High up in the Sperrin Mountains of mid-Ulster the Moyola club has its own hatchery.
It works all year round, releasing thousands of salmon fry into the rivers.
Salmon fishing on the Bann |
Club member Norman Doherty explains: "Before the hatchery was formed, the river had got into a state with regards the salmon.
"The salmon were depleted every year, they were getting more and more scarce. So we had to do something about it to enhance the river."
There are many reasons why salmon stocks are being driven down in Northern Ireland rivers.
Climate change, pollution and angling itself all take their toll.
But the fishermen say the salmon must be given all the help they can to return to their birthplace.
Frank Quigley compared the frustration of the local angling clubs to a balance sheet.
He said: "If these lads were to sit down and show invested hours this year and, in the other column, the returns from the investment, they would pack up tomorrow and take up something else."
