Saturday January 21st, 10.20
Link to the new AST, FishPal and Angling Trust Catch and Release Videos
Enjoy and please share!
Tuesday January 17th, 14.45
AST 50th Anniversary Annual Online Auction 2017
Some fantastic lots – don’t delay if you want to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime fishing or hunting adventure !
The Atlantic Salmon Trust’s 50th Anniversary annual online auction went live on 14th January 2017 and closes on 14th February 2017 with over 160 lots including UK and Overseas fishing, stalking and shooting and an eclectic selection of variety lots.
With over 160 lots ranging from salmon fishing, wild sea trout, trout & grayling fishing, shooting & stalking and fishing equipment – this is probably the largest auction of its kind. There is sport to suit every taste and pocket, with starting bids ranging from £20 – £2,400.
Outstanding fishing lots include Norwegian Salmon fishing on the River Orkla, (Starting bid £2,400, Guide price £3,200) Birgham Dub on the Tweed (Start bid £375, Guide Price £500), Stobhall on the Tay (Start bid £435, Guide Price £585) and Park on the Dee (Starting bid £260, Guide Price £350). There are also some superb trout fishing lots on chalk streams and wild brown trout fishing, and a week fishing lochs on Islay including accommodation (Current bid £620, Guide Price £830).
Stalking lots include roebuck in Perthshire, hind stalking lots in Argyll and shooting lots include driven woodcock shooting for a team of guns in Pembrokeshire.
For full details of all lots on offer and instructions on how to register your bid visit:
auction.atlanticsalmontrust.org
Funds raised through the online auction go to support projects and research undertaken to protect and conserve wild Atlantic salmon and Sea trout. To find out more please visit the AST’s new website: www.atlanticsalmontrust.org
If you have registered to bid in our previous online auctions, you will be able to login using the same credentials this year.
Supporters who prefer not to use the internet can still take part. Please call us on 0131 221 6550 and we will post you a catalogue. You can then contact us with your bid(s) and we will do your bidding for you.
The Atlantic Salmon Trust
11 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2AS
Telephone: 0131 221 6550
Email: info@atlanticsalmontrust.org
Photo credits:
Black & White Salmon photo- Photographer: Hajas Andersson; Donor: Hembregard River Stjorda, www.hembregard.no
Lady fishing – Photographer: Nick Lawrence, Donor: Famous Fishing, www.famousfishing.co.uk/
Thursday December 29th, 10.55
Rio Petrohue and Rio Puelo, X Region de Los Lagos, Chile
I’m recently returned from Chile where, with my colleague Sandra Bravo and her team from the Universidad Austral de Chile, we worked on developing a model to underpin the development of sustainable sport fisheries on these two important rivers. We are particularly interested in encompassing in the model the effects of the recent Calbuco volcanic eruption (2015) and the effects of the invasive diatom, Didymo on the Puleo system. I hope to have my contracted report completed by mid-January.
Atlantic Salmon Trust (http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/)
The team at AST are very busy at present preparing a series of major events to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Trust in 2017. These include a major smolt conference in Berwick on Tweed in March, a salmon conference in London in May, our celebratory Gala Dinner, also in May and the preparation of a new 10 year science plan and a revised and updated aquaculture policy. We will also be launching the AST Small Streams Characterisation System early in the New Year. Watch out shortly for the launch of the new AST website.
Vartry River, Co Wicklow
I just completed a report for the Vartry Anglers Conservation Club on the impact of a planned development by Irish Water of the Roundwood Water Treatment Plant on the migratory fish species of the river. My report is part of a large portfolio of documents provided to An Bord Pleanala to object to the planning permission recently granted by Wicklow County Council for the development.
Aquaculture Licensing Review
I’m pleased to confirm that I’ve recently been appointed to the Aquaculture Licensing Review Group by Minister Michael Creed T.D. – see below. I’m greatly looking forward to working with my colleagues Mary Moylan and Lorcan Ó Cinnéide in carrying out this important review.
Press Release
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D. today announced the appointment of an independent Aquaculture Licensing Review Group to review the process of licensing for aquaculture and its associated legal framework in keeping with actions identified in Food Wise 2025 and Ireland’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development.
On the need for a review of the existing licensing process Minister Creed said “Our aquaculture sector has enormous potential to sustainably grow its production of seafood to meet the opportunities presented from growing world demand for safe, sustainable seafood. Ireland’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development aims to sustainably grow our production across all species by 45,000 tonnes.”
The Minister continued “To achieve that ambition, we need to revamp our aquaculture licensing process and its associated legal frameworks, so that an operator can have a decision on an aquaculture licence application within timeframes that compare favourably to our competitors. But any changes must ensure that all stakeholders can participate in a transparent licensing process and have confidence that any licensing decision complies with all EU and national legal requirements and protects our oceans for future generations.”
Both Food Wise 2025 and the National Strategic Plan identified issues with the current licensing system and recommended an independent review to examine the existing challenges and propose improvements in line with best-practice internationally.
Welcoming the Review Group, Minister Creed acknowledged the appropriate skills and experience that the members bring: “I am pleased to announce today the formation of an Independent Review Group comprising 3 persons who I am confident will be widely accepted as having the skills, experience and integrity to conduct this independent review in a manner that all stakeholders can support. I would like to thank Mary Moylan, Ken Whelan and Lorcán Ó Cinnéide for agreeing to serve on the Review Group and I look forward to their recommendations on what we need to change to give this sector a reliable, sustainable, effective decision-making foundation so that we can harness its full potential.”
Ireland’s first National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development was approved by Government and published in December 2015. That Plan proposes 24 actions to drive the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector and sustainably grow production in the sector by 45,000 tonnes. One of the actions of the Plan commits the Minister to “a review and revision of the aquaculture licence process, including the applicable legal framework”.
For seafood, Food Wise 2025 commits to “an independent review of the existing aquaculture licensing system involving all key stakeholders, to identify the current shortcomings and bottlenecks (legislative, resource and logistical), to report by early 2016 and implement necessary changes to the aquaculture licensing system as a matter of priority”.
Mary Moylan (Chair) retired as Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Environment in 2014. Mary successively headed up the Planning and Built Heritage, Corporate Affairs and Rural Development Divisions of the Department. Mary held a number of senior posts throughout her career including responsibilities in th e area of International Environment Policy, Planning and Landuse and earlier as Environment Attaché at the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Communities.
Ken Whelan PhD is Adjunct Professor in the School of Biology and Environmental Science at UCD and is also Research Director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust. Dr Whelan was formerly an Executive Director, with responsibility for aquaculture, at the Marine Institute, Chairman of the International Atlantic Salmon Research Board and Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation. He is currently a self-employed marine and freshwater fisheries consultant.
Lorcan Ó Cinnéide is CEO of the Irish Fish Processors & Exporters Association, the national representative body for the seafood processing industry. He is a member of the Board of the Marine Institute, the board of the European Fish Processors Association, the Sea Fisheries Protection Consultative Committee and a former member of the Aquaculture Licence Appeals Board.
The Terms of Reference of the Independent Review Group are as follows:
The Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine appoints an independent three person review group to conduct an independent review of the aquaculture licence process and associated legal framework, in line with the objectives described below. The Independent Review Group includes a Chair and two members and administrative support is provided by the Department.
Objectives of the review
Having regard to Government policy for the sustainable development of aquaculture, as outlined in Food Wise
2025 and the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development, the Committee shall aim to identify changes required to the aquaculture licence process and its associated legal framework that will:
- Deliver licence determinations in a timely manner, having regard to international best practice;
2.Support achievement of the actions and priorities of Food Wise 2025 and the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development
- Facilitate enhanced transparency in the licensing process for all stakeholders
4.Ensure legally robust licence determinations having regard to EU and national law.
Scope of the Review
The review will encompass the aquaculture licensing process from pre-application stage to the determination of a licence. It will encompass all applications for a licence under existing legislation, including an aquaculture licence, a trial licence, a review of a licence or a renewal of a licence. The Independent Review Group will
consult with stakeholders and take their views into account in formulating its final report.
Duration of the Review
The Independent Review Group will report to the Minister within 4 months with a concise report containing recommended actions.
Thursday November 24th, at 17.00
Review and Assessment of Fishery Management Options for the Mulcair River, Co Limerick
ESB has recently requested me to carry out an independent review and assessment of fishery management options for the Mulcair River, which prioritise the conservation of salmon. These could include such issues as: fishing methods, permit fess etc. I have agreed to provide ESB with a full report before the end of January 2017. Accordingly I would welcome submissions from all relevant stakeholders, such as local angling clubs, the general public, State agencies, Local Government and other interested parties engaged in angling tourism or the provision of angling accommodation.
All submissions should be made via email (ken.whelan@hotmail.com) and should reach me no later than Friday 16th December 2016, at 18.00. The “subject” heading in the email should begin: “Mulcair River Review, 2017……..”. The submissions should include the name and full contact details of those making the submission. All submissions will be acknowledged by email during the week beginning the 19th December. Anyone who does not receive an acknowledgment by the end of that week should make contact with me by email or by telephone. Any submissions received outside of this timeline will be returned to the sender. Please note that those making submissions will bear the costs of same.
Having reviewed the submissions I will, as necessary, make contact with individuals or organisations to clarify areas of their submission or to seek additional information. Should the need arise, I will also make contact with parties that I judge have additional information which could be of importance to my review.
All submissions received shall be published with my final report and recommendations. Those making submissions will be informed in due course where the report will be published and how to access same. Social media and other internet notifications will also be posted containing details of where the report can be located.
It is intended that this review process shall be open and transparent and I look forward to working, over the coming months, with all of those who value angling on the Mulcair.
Dr Ken Whelan
23 Cowper Downs
Cowper Road
Dublin D06 V0T2
Ireland
Mobile: +353 86 7835900
Email: ken.whelan@hotmail.com
Website: www.kenwhelan.info
Wednesday October 19th 2016, at 11.00 Wednesday October 19th 2016, at 11.00
Lots of work on the books at present:
AST: preparing a ten year science strategy for AST and an important position paper on aquaculture. Finalising the Small Streams Programme which we hope to launch over the next few weeks.
Chile: Off to Chile for x 3 weeks from late November – advising on the development of recreational tourist angling on the Petrohue and Puelo Rivers.
October 7th – 9th : Freshwater Detective weekend – Aasleagh Lodge – next course mid-November
DELPHI RESORT
Don’t forget to book for the November Freshwater Detective weekend in Aasleagh Lodge. It promises to be a cracker! November 18th – 20th – we will be seeking out spawning salmon and sea trout on the Rivers Erriff and Carrowniskey. Fantastic value for money. Full details: http://www.errifffishery.ie/wildlife-fishing-courses
October 15: UCD – Freshwater Detective – Rye Water
Irish Fly Fair Galway: http://irishflyfair.com/talks.html – preparing a series of talks with Jason O’ Riordan for the Galway Fly Faair. Really looking forward to seeing you there. Also finalising a series of great angling classes for 2017 – including Bass and Sea Trout in salt water! Details at the fly fair.
Sunday July 30th 2016, at 13.00
The Freshwater Detective – East & West
October / November 2016
For the very first time, my increasingly popular Freshwater Detective courses are available this autumn both east and west of the Shannon!
EAST
UCD Course – Classroom based course, with three Field Trips
Ireland has a rich abundance of rivers and lakes. This course will examine this unique resource: its sources and origin, its contribution to biological diversity and its importance for the landscape and for humans. The course will teach students the basics of becoming a Freshwater Detective and how, using the presence or absence of specific insects or fish, to read a river corridor or lake shore and to detect the presence of key predators such as otter and mink. The course will comprise six talks and three field visits.
For more details see Page 124 – http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Adult%20Education%20Brochure%202016-2017.pdf
Booking: adult.education@ucd.ie or phone +353 1 7167123
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WEST
The Freshwater Detective – Goes West
I’m really excited to announce that, working closely with Delphi Resort, we’ve devised a truly unique, field –based, Freshwater Detective course. Radiating out from Aasleagh Lodge, on the beautiful River Erriff, I will guide you on a fascinating freshwater trek to learn the skills of a Freshwater Detective. We will walk the banks and shores of a range of pristine waters, follow otter and mink trails and catch a glimpse of the many bird predators such as herons, mergansers and the elusive kingfisher, which inhabit this wild, unspoilt and remote area.
This course offers amazing value for money and includes a wide range of accommodation in the scrumptious Aasleagh Lodge and superb meals prepared by the resident Aasleagh Lodge chef.
For more details see: http://www.errifffishery.ie/#!wildlife-fishing-courses/dvpgu
Booking : Ring +353 9542208 or email bookings@delphiresort.com
Sunday July 30th 2016, at 13.00
CALL FOR PAPERS
From Headwater to Headland –
Improving Smolt Survival in Rivers and Estuaries
The conference will be held at the Guild Hall, Berwick-Upon-Tweed on Tuesday, 14th and Wednesday, 15th March 2017
http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/ http://www.tweedfoundation.org.uk/
This is the first call for papers for this Conference
There is general agreement that a key objective of salmon management should be to maximise the production of healthy wild salmon smolts. This event will explore what this means in practice, reviewing the current state of scientific knowledge about salmon smolts and considering the implications of this for the management of salmon, both in freshwater and in estuaries and coastal waters. It will also seek to identify those areas where managers and others need to know more if they are to increase smolt numbers.
smolt-conference-2017-call-for-papers
Sunday July 11th 2016, at 20.00
Audience 1.7.16
Workshop: The Role & Formation of River Trusts in Ireland
Date: Friday, 1st July 2016
Location: Killyleagh Community Centre, Killyleagh, Co Down
Feedback at the Irish International Fly Fair, in July 2015, clearly showed that many of those involved in the formation of River Trusts or other river/ stream conservation initiatives were encountering difficulties in forming appropriate conservation groups to protect our river and stream corridors. Such difficulties related to the legislative framework North and South and in defining the role and function of their Trusts, so that they fitted in seamlessly with the complicated patchwork of fisheries bodies, conservation bodies, angling clubs and angling federations in Ireland. In response, the AST and the Dibney River Conservation Trust decided to jointly host a comprehensive one day event this year to bring together the existing Trusts in Ireland, or those planning on forming Trusts, to share experiences and advice. With our partners, we set about organising such a workshop and were surprised and indeed delighted, by the level of interest in the initiative when it was first announced on social media earlier this year!
On Friday 1st July well over 60 participants gathered in the Bridge Community Centre Killyleagh, Co Down, to participate in the workshop and to hear from a wide range of speakers on all aspects of Trust formation both in the UK and in Ireland. Presentations also covered other river conservation models. Participants were given a thorough overview of the potential support services and funding currently available throughout Ireland.
The meeting was delighted to learn that Mark Horton of the Rivers Trust / Ballinderry Trust is currently employed in the Republic of Ireland to work directly with groups interested in forming Trusts. Bernie O Flaherty and her colleague Sheevaun Thompson, outlined in some detail how the newly formed body LAWCO (Local Authority Water and Communities Office) is working closely with Mark to ensure that a broad range of practical advice and seed funding is made available to interested parties.
Arlin Rickard, CEO of the Rivers Trust gave a most comprehensive overview of the work of the Trust movement, not alone in the UK but also in other parts of the world. Arlin offered, both directly and through Mark Horton, to provide any support or advice fledgling Trusts might require. He also encouraged all of those interested in forming River Trusts or similar bodies to visit the Rivers Trust website (http://www.theriverstrust.org/), where a wealth of detailed advice is available. Trusts such as the Dibney Trust and the River Blackwater Catchment Trust (a cross border initiative) gave compelling presentations on the positives and some of the frustrations associated with organising and running Trusts in Ireland. Fran Igoe, formerly of IRD Duhallow and now with LAWCO, gave advice on how EU Leader funding can be used to support Integrated Rural Development Groups to achieve objectives similar to those of River Trusts.
Linked to this short summary report is: a full list of key contacts associated with the workshop; contact details for the speakers and pdf copies of the presentations made by our guests at the meeting.
Please note if you are interested in forming a River Trust in Ireland, your principal initial contact is:
Mark Horton
mark@theriverstrust.org
Director All-Ireland
The Rivers Trust
Ballinderry Rivers Trust
231a Orritor Road,
Cookstown,
Co. Tyrone,
BT80 9NB, Northern Ireland
Tel: +442886761515 (from R.O.I – 04886761515)
Mobile: +447572 287509
Finally the AST and the Dibney Conservation Trust would like to thank: the members of the Workshop Steering Committee, who have so willingly gave of their time in organising the event and our generous sponsors – LAWCO and the Rivers Trust. Finally we would like to thank the community of Kilylleagh who made us feel so welcome during our short visit to their beautiful village.
Ken Whelan,
Chair,
The Role & Formation of River Trusts in Ireland
Contacts Rivers trust Workshop 1.7.16
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
May 2016
North West Angling Fair and The Freshwater Detective – Goes West !
Jason and I had had a very productive few days at the North West Angling Fair in Strabane this weekend (May 27th to 29th ). Great to meet with so many old friends and to make a raft of new contacts. I was particularly pleased to meet up with Lionel Knobbs and the guys from the Loughs Agency. I have a feeling the new AST Small Streams Assessment Programme is just what they need to support angling clubs in the Foyle area!!
I’ve fished the Mourne a few times down the years but I’d not before seen it at close quarters in the Strabane area. Both Jason and I were very impressed with its potential as a wild trout fishery, in additional to its well merited reputation as prime salmon and sea trout water.
Liz and her team from Derry City & Strabane District Council did a splendid job in organising and supporting the event and I’m sure that the wonderful Melvin Sports Complex will host many more angling shows over the years to come.
Courses and Adventure Weekends
I’m delighted to announce that in addition to the Slaney Sea Trout Course on the 23rd and 24th July, Jason and I will be hosting ( in conjunction with Delphi Resort) a very exciting, fully residential sea trout course on the Erriff in August (weekend of the 19th).
Also this summer I’ll be running three separate, river trekking and watercraft courses from Aasleagh Lodge (August, October and November). Over the Freshwater Detective – Goes West weekends I will guide you on a unique freshwater trek from your base in Aasleagh Lodge to some of the more remote rivers and hill loughs of the west of Ireland. I’ll share with you an enchanting and fascinating world, largely hidden from view to the casual visitor and bring to life the interdependence of all life forms inhabiting the local river valleys and lake shores. Over a weekend of your choice, you will learn the skills of a Freshwater Detective, trek along the banks and shores of a range of pristine waters, follow otter and mink trails and perhaps catch a glimpse of the many bird predators such as herons, mergansers and the elusive kingfisher, which inhabits this wild, unspoilt and remote area. Do make an effort to book one of these every special and exciting weekends.
Saturday May 21st 2016, at 12.05
SIM Fly Fair – Castel di Sangro, Italy, June 24th to 26th 2016
Delighted to have been invited by my good friends Doriano Maglione and Osvaldo Galizia to participate in this years Sim Fly Fair, in Castel di Sangro, Italy. My talk will cover how, 10,000 years ago, the migratory brown trout moved out from their refugia in the Mediterranean to literally conquer the freshwater fish world – with just a little help from man! What a guest list Osvaldo and his team have compiled!! I’ll be travelling with my fishing pal Markus Muller, who will also be presenting a fascinating talk on fly fishing for bass in Ireland. Doubtless we’ll take the opportunity to fish for some of the very special brown trout for which this part of Italy is justifiably famous.
Monday May 16th 2016, at 15.00
Rivers Trusts in Ireland 1st July 2016 16.5.16
FREE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-role-formation-of-river-trusts-in-ireland-tickets-25473938235
- The number of Rivers Trusts is growing across Ireland.
- Are you running a Rivers Trust in Ireland?
- Are you interested in forming a Rivers Trust?
- Do you need advice and support?
- Would you like to learn more about the work of Rivers Trusts across Ireland and the UK?
- If the answer is YES, please register now!
In conjunction with the Irish International Fly Fair*, the Dibney River Conservation Trust and the Atlantic Salmon Trust (http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/), invite you to attend this important workshop.
Attendance is free but places are limited and you must book a place on line (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-role-formation-of-river-trusts-in-ireland-tickets-25473938235 ) – the booking site will remain open until late June but early booking is advised!
Date: Friday, 1st July 2016
Location: Killyleagh Community Centre, Killyleagh, Co Down,
Time: 09.30 to 16.00
*Those attending the workshop might also like to visit The International Fly Fair – Killyleagh Castle, July 2nd and 3rd
See: (http://www.irishinternationalflyfair.com/ )
Friday May 6th 2016, at 13.45
The Role & Formation of River Trusts in Ireland
Are you running a River Trust in Ireland? Are you interested in forming a River Trust?
Do you need advice and support? Would you like to be up to date with the overall Rivers Trust movement?
If so please save the 1st July for a visit to Killyleagh, Co Down
In conjunction with the Irish International Fly Fair*, the Dibney River Conservation Trust and the Atlantic Salmon Trust (http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/) invite you to attend this important workshop.
Attendance is free but places are limited and you must book a place on line – the booking site will open in mid-May.
Date: Friday, 1st July 2016
Location: Killyleagh Community Centre, Killyleagh, Co Down,
Time: 09.30 to 16.00
___________________________________________________________________________
*Those attending the workshop might also like to visit The International Fly Fair – Killyleagh Castle, July 2nd and 3rd See: (http://www.irishinternationalflyfair.com/ )
Monday May 2nd 2016, at 12.20
Most enjoyable Match the Hatch Course on the Rye Water yesterday, Sunday 1st May. Thanks to the Leixlip Anglers and Ger Walsh who hosted the event.
More courses to follow in July (Sea trout, R Slaney); August (Sea Trout, West of Ireland & Water Craft, Delphi Resort, North Mayo); October and November (x 2 more Water Craft courses in North Mayo). Watch out for details of Dublin based, fly tying and angling courses starting in October.
Monday April 18th 2016, at 10.25
Ardaire Springs ( http://www.ardairesprings.com/)
I participated in a great event on Saturday last at Ardaire Springs fishery. All of the Mackenzie rods were on display, including the stunning new FX1. There was a fine casting display by Jason O’Riordan and I assembled a selection of fauna / potential trout food from the lake margins. For such a young water body it has an amazing range of insects. including large sedges, an incredible selection of Damsel flies, midge larvae of all sorts and some gorgeous lake and pond olives. Needless to say Ned kindly invited us all to spend a few hours fishing for some of his fine rainbows and browns!
Saturday April 9th 2016, at 16.15
River Rye Water
Match the Hatch Course
Ken Whelan & Jason O’Riordan
Sunday, 1st May 2106
On this course learn:
- How to sample your local river for insects and other food items
- Identification of key food sources and their life cycles
- River fly hatches across the fishing season
- Choosing imitative flies and how to fish them effectively
Suitable for beginners and improvers!
This event will be held at the Leixlip Amenities Sports Centre (http://www.leixlipsportscentre.com/location.asp) and on the Rye Water, Leixlip, Co Kildare.
Time: 10.00 to 17.00 – Fee: €90
The course is filling up fast! Please book early to avoid disappointment!
_______________________________________________________
Adaire Springs (http://www.ardairesprings.com/)
Jason and I will be at the Adaire Springs Open Day, next Saturday, 16th April. In addition to trying out the amazing new FX1 Graphene rod from Scott Mackenzie, you can also drop by to meet Jason & I, and to learn more about our increasingly popular series of angling courses. Our April salmon course on the River Erriff is now fully booked but we have places on both the Rye Water course (1st May) and our unique River and Night Fishing, Sea Trout Course, Clohamon Fishery, River Slaney, 23rd and 24th July.
For More Information contact: ken@kenwhelan.info
Thursday March 4th 2016, at 15.15
Salmon Course River Erriff & Aashleagh Lodge
Ken Whelan & Jason O’Riordan in cooperation with Delphi Resort (www.delphiresort.com)
Don’t forget to book your place on this unique beginners and improvers salmon fishing course. The course includes:
The Beginners & Improvers Course takes place the weekend of 22 – 24 April 2016:
2 x nights B&B at Aasleagh Lodge
2 x Lunches
1 x Evening Meal
Free fishing as part of the course—practice what you’ve learned!
Quality instruction by Jason O’Riordan and Ken Whelan who will explain and demonstrate:
o Salmon behaviour throughout the season
o Fishing Tackle & Fly/Lure Selection
o Correct casts for fishing situations
o Spinning tackle and correct lure choice
o Fishing techniques & Fish location
Limited spaces – booking early is advised to avoid disappointment!
Friday 19th February 2016, at 17.25
Ireland Angling Show Swords
( http://maramedia.ie/irish-angling-expo)
Jason O’Riordan and I are looking forward to meeting you all at the Dublin Angling Show tomorrow and Sunday. Do call along to our talk on River and Estuarine Fishing for Sea Trout at 14.30 or drop by and meet us on the Scott Mackenzie Stand.
We can provide you with full details of our exciting new angling courses, including our exclusive, residential salmon course, run in conjunction with Delphi Resorts (http://www.delphiadventureresort.com/).
I’m just back from a fantastic trip to the south Island New Zealand. To see more images of the wonderful brown trout we encountered visit my website: http://www.www.kenwhelan.info/blog/
Our own Ronan Creane (roundstoned@yahoo.co.uk), is carving out quite a reputation for himself as a top class guide in NZ. Ronan specialises in hunting down really large trout and regularly finds 8lb + trout for his clients! See attached to this post Ronan with a fine South Island brown.
Other great guides I fish with include Derek Grzelewski (derekgrzelewski@gmail.com) and Casey Cravens (caseycravens@aim.com).
Our trip was hosted by my good friend David Lambroughton – one of the best angling photographers in the world. See his work on: (http://www.davidlambroughton.com/)
See you in the morning!
Friday 15th January 2016, at 10.30
FROM HELL TO HEAVEN ~ Ken Whelan (Feature – Page 40): Trout & Salmon Magazine, February 2016
Thanks to Gardiner Mitchell for the wonderful images, which greatly enhanced our Trout & Salmon article on the impacts of the 1st World War on marble trout! Slovenia is just stunning with fantastic fishing and only a few hours away by plane. Thanks also to the Freshwater Institute of Slovenia and the Slovenian Tourist Board who hosted our trip.
Thursday 7th January 2016, at 14.30
A new Chairman, Executive Director and refreshed Board of Directors were appointed at the December 2015 AGM at Fishmongers Hall following the retirement of current post-holders. The new AST Chairman is Robbie Douglas-Miller, and the new Executive Director is Sarah Bayley Slater.
For more see: http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/newsletters/january-2016.html
Erriff and Delphi – Watercraft and Fishing Courses 2016
I’m delighted to confirm that I’ve joined forces with Delphi Resort (www.delphiresort.com) to run a series of Watercraft and Angling courses. The first course will be a salmon angling course for beginners and improvers on the River Erriff at Aasleagh Lodge, in late April. This will be a residential course and will give participants access to this famous salmon river for two full days in spring, in addition to expert tuition covering fly fishing and spinning. The main angling tutor on the salmon course will be my good friend Jason O’ Riordan, well know angling guide and angling instructor (http://gamefishingireland.ie/about/).
It will be a great pleasure for me to find myself back working on the Erriff, as I was part of the Central Fisheries Board team that purchased the river from Lord Brabourne in 1982. I subsequently surveyed the river and established a sea trout and salmon research programme, which has recently been much expanded by my colleagues in IFI.
Watch out, early in the New Year, for news of our exciting watercraft courses, based around Delphi’s Adventure and Hill Walking Programmes.
Angling Courses 2016
Jason O’Riordan and I are delighted to announce details of our 2016 fishing courses. For our first outing we’ve joined forces with Delphi Resort (www.delphiresort.com) to run a very special, beginners and improvers, residential salmon angling course, on the famous River Erriff. Other courses include a Match the Hatch course on the Rye Water in early May and a Sea Trout River and Night Fishing course on the Clohamon Beat of the River Slaney, in late July.
The above courses would make ideal Christmas Gifts and gift vouchers for each of the courses are available.
For more details: ken@kenwhelan.info or gamefishingireland@gmail.com
Monday 7th December 2015 , at 20.05
Webinar – 2/12/15
The hidden importance of small coastal streams
Ken Whelan
If you missed last week’s Webinar you can now listen to it on:
http://salmonconservation.ca/en/ascf_cri_webinar_series/
My thanks to the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Federation (www.salmonconservation.ca ) and to the Canadian Rivers Institute (http://canadianriversinstitute.com/) for inviting me to participate in their Webinar series.
Friday 13th November 2015 , at 15.30
BioWeb.ie is a website for enthusiasts of environmental, zoological and botanical-related fields to promote their work and themselves. The site’s goal is to provide a platform for people to post their research, essays and opinion pieces so these aspiring environmentalists can get their names out there.
I was privileged to be the first to contribute an interview to the site. It was a great pleasure working with Cormac Price from BioWeb on this and you can hear the result by clicking on the link below:
Hope you find it interesting! Please make sure to let your friends know about BioWeb.ie !
Friday 13th November 2015 , at 12.30
Match the Hatch – Small Stillwater Course
Ken Whelan & Jason O’Riordan
In this intensive one day course learn how to:
- Fish imitative flies with success
- Insect / invertebrate Identification
- Select flies to match the trout’s diet
- Sample the insects from your local water
This increasingly popular one day course will be held on Sunday, 29th November 2015 at Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan, Dublin (http://www.courtlough.ie/trout-fishing/)
The course will comprise:
Phase 1: (Calssroom) Slides and images as an introduction to small still water entomology. Demonstration of live food items present in the lake. A summary of the various life cycles (including fry) and the sequence of insect hatches throughout the season.
Phase 2: (Classroom) Going through the fly boxes and tying in the imitations with the natural animals. Emphasis will be placed on how the insects (aquatic and terrestrial) , crustaceans / snails move and how the flies move in the water and at what depth
Phase3: A review of various lake shore habitats along the margins of the lake and insect collection
Phase 4: Angling approaches, gear, display of still water tackle, techniques and set ups
Phase 5: Fishing – testing out your newly acquired techniques and skills. One to one shoreline question and answer sessions.
Time: 10.00 to 16.00 – Lunch included
Price: €90
Contact: ken@kenwhelan.info
Thursday 5th November 2015 , at 16.10
Report from the 2nd International Sea Trout Symposium
4 Nov 2015
The symposium, which met in Dundalk, Ireland, provided a fascinating insight into recent research into all aspects of sea trout biology and behaviour.
In 2004 the 1st International Sea Trout Symposium was held in Cardiff. Sea trout have long been treated as the poor relations of salmon,, and this was the first major conference on this complex, and fascinating fish. It produced a series of recommendations for further research, and the 2nd symposium, which took place over three days in Dundalk, Ireland, provided an opportunity to review the progress that has been made in the intervening 11 years. The event lived up to its name, with papers on sea trout from the Baltic to the foothills of the Pyrenees as well as Britain and Ireland.
The overwhelming impression left by the symposium was the sheer diversity of trout behaviour. Sea trout in the river Teno in the North of Finland return to the river in late summer and overwinter there, with immature fish then migrating back to the sea and mature ones moving further up the system to spawn the following year. In parts of Britain and Ireland, on the other hand, finnock may return to the river after only a few months at sea, with some maturing and spawning the same year. Moreover, migrating to sea (anadromy) is only one of a range of life strategies that trout adopt. A study from Switzerland showed that trout there migrate to and from large lakes in much the same way that trout elsewhere migrate to sea, with the crucial difference that such freshwater to freshwater migrants do not need to become smolts to deal with the transition to freshwater.
The symposium showed how much research there has been into all aspects of trout biology and behaviour since the 1st symposium. The programme addressed a series of important questions: what causes trout to go to sea, and why do apparently similar populations behave very differently? What is the genetic structure of sea trout populations and what does this tell us about their origins? Where do sea trout go at sea and what do they feed on? What can we do to improve the monitoring of sea trout stocks? What is the impact of the various threats to sea trout? To try to answer these questions an important series of papers on the results of the EU-funded Celtic Sea Trout Project were presented, as well as a large number of other studies. . Inevitably, in some areas new research is undermining received ideas and showing that we know less than we thought we did. But in others there have been real advances in knowledge, particularly in the field of genetics and behaviour at sea.
Fascinating though the latest scientific research was, the symposium had a practical purpose: its title was From Science to Management, and the aim was to draw practical conclusions from the research that will help managers improve the management of their sea trout stocks.
One of these is that sea trout are great vagrants. While the evidence shows that the vast majority return to breed in their natal stream, sea trout frequently visit other estuaries and rivers. It should never be assumed that a sea trout found in the lower reaches of a river is a native of that river, and sea trout in estuaries may well come from a wide range of stocks. This has obvious implications for management. Despite the many problems, there have been significant advances in modelling sea trout populations. This will eventually help managers assess better the state of their stocks. However, a number of issues still need to be resolved, such as the role of resident trout and of finnock. There is a clear need for more sea trout index rivers, so that all aspects of actual sea trout populations can be studied in depth. Work in Norther Ireland on the Shimna river showed what could be done.
An important finding from the Shimna was that some 85% of eggs in the system were contributed by larger sea trout that have spent at least one winter at sea. This is likely to be true of many other systems, and has obvious implications for management. If managers want to safeguard the main part of their spawning stock, they need to focus on conserving these fish; slot limits, requiring anglers to return fish with a defined size range, is one option.
Although we know much more than we did about sea trout at sea, there is still a lot more we need know- which is not surprising given how little we knew to start with. Areas for new work include tracking studies to give us more understanding of sea trout movements and behaviour in estuaries and around coasts, studies on diet and the role of coastal streams in contributing to sea trout numbers at sea. One important topic that the symposium did not address was the importance of sea trout and sea trout fisheries to the economies and cultures of so many parts of Europe. An event concentrating on advances in science was probably not the place for this, but it is something that needs to be done.
Details of the symposium programme can be found on the symposium website – http://seatroutsymposium.org/ – and it is hoped to upload the presentations on to this, together with the poster papers displayed in the conference hall. In the longer term a full Proceedings, with peer-reviewed papers, will be published, and copies of this can be ordered on the website.
The symposium was very well organised by the principal sponsors, Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland, and the AST played a prominent role in the preparations as one of the other sponsors and as one of the convenors. In all over 160 people from over 12 countries attended, and there was general agreement that we must not let another 11 years elapse until the 3rd symposium.
Monday 2nd October 2015 , at 13.00
Atlantic Salmon Trust – Executive Director Post
The AST was founded in 1967 in response to concerns about over-exploitation of the wild Atlantic salmon.
The Trust is among the foremost salmon and sea trout conservation charities in the UK.
Based in central Scotland, AST interacts with Governments, NGO’s, other conservation charities and scientific bodies to protect and enhance salmon stocks. The Trust’s work covers the salmon’s life cycle in both fresh and sea water environments throughout the North Atlantic region, and seeks to find out where the most serious threats to survival take place and to explore ways of resolving them. Priorities include minimising commercial exploitation by mixed stock netting, and damage caused by salmon aquaculture.
The AST is governed by a Board of Trustees, relies on its Honorary Scientific Panel for scientific advice, and has a reputation for pragmatic, impartial, science-based policies and projects.
Reporting to the Board with full responsibility for the delivery of AST policy and project work candidates for this exciting role must demonstrate strategic planning, excellent communication skills across all levels, be a problem solver with an entrepreneurial spirit and integrity, capable of fundraising to a high level and have strong environmental credentials.
Apply by e-mail with a covering letter and CV to director@atlanticsalmontrust.org .
Closing date is Saturday 14th Nov 2015
Please do re-post and share
Monday 26th October 2015, at 15.20
The 6th Irish Fly Fair and International Angling Show 7th and 8th of November 2015
Galway Bay Hotel, Salthill
Ireland’s biggest fly fishing extravaganza, and now one of the top fly fishing shows in Europe.
The event will again feature a huge host of world famous fly dressers and game angling stands, under one roof in Ireland. Fly dressers, fly casters and angling celebrities from all over the globe will gather at the Galway Bay Hotel, in Salthill, to participate in the 6th Irish Fly Fair and International Angling Show. Which will be held on the 7th and 8th of November. Many International and local visitors will come to this celebrated event, and have the opportunity to see some of the finest fly dressers from around the world practice their art. Champion fly casters will be available to demonstrate and advise on fly casting.
Show organizer Stevie Munn said: “Last year, The Irish Fly Fair saw some of the world’s best fly casters and fly tyers descend on The Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill. This show is a fantastic success with many of the fly dressers, demonstrators, exhibitors and the tackle trade rebooked for this year’s event. With thousands of visitors to the show, the feedback is always exceptionally positive, many saying it was the best game angling show they have ever been to. We hope to build on this success and have some new trade stands, fly tyers and celebrities again for this year.” The tackle trade will be very well represented at this year’s event, with a huge range of quality trade stands in the form of tackle, outdoor clothing, fly tying gear and various other stands, so there is something for everyone!
The event team would like to welcome back angling celebrities, Charles Jardine, Hywel Morgan, Glenda Powell and Peter O’Reilly, who will be demonstrating and advising on all aspects of fly fishing! We would also like to welcome our new guests, including Spey casting legends Scott McKenzie and Gary Scott and Master Fly-casting Instructors Bas de Bruin and Sepp Fuchs. In addition, there will be fly tying tuition from qualified angling instructors APGAI Ireland, available fly tying lessons during the two-day exhibition.
Experts from the Inland Fisheries Ireland, Tom Doc Sullivan, Dr Ken Whelan, FISSTA and many more will be hosting talks and seminars on various angling related topics. The “Youth Fly Tying Competition” will give the young people a chance to show the “Pro Fly Dressers” what they can do.
The Irish Fly Fair is hailed as one of the finest shows of its kind in Europe, a great weekend to meet up with old friends and make new ones! This show is a must for all angling enthusiasts. A Big Thank you to all who support the show, including the sponsors Veniard, Partridge, Hardy and Semperfli. This is the undisputed best Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Show in all of Ireland, and one not to be missed. The show is held in one of Galway’s best hotels. Numerous visitors come each year for the weekend with their families to experience the whole atmosphere of the show.
Please come along and give it your support, angling needs feel good events like this. For more details visit our website. www.irishflyfair.com or contact Stevie Munn by Email: anglingclassics@aol.com www.irishflyfair.com ;
Very Best Regards Stevie
Stevie Munn
HARDY Pro Team
Pure Fishing Game Angling Consultant
PARTRIDGE Pro Staff
Game Angling Consultant & Angling Writer Angling Fly Casting and Fly Tying Instructor and Pro Guide.
Sunday 11th October 2015, at 12.00
The Freshwater Detective
We are mid-way though the Freshwater Detective course in UCD and gearing up for the two Limerick IT Courses, planned for November and December in Clonmel and Limerick City (Moylish).
The course will comprise two Friday evenings (18.00 – 21.00) and two Saturdays (09.00 – 16.00) and include interactive talks with slides, video clips and 2 field classes.
No previous knowledge is required.
Key Programme Details
Duration: Nov 6/7 & 20/21 LIT Clonmel; Nov 27/28 & Dec 4/5 LIT Moylish, Limerick City
Cost : €175
Delivery: The programme will be delivered over two weekends. The programme will include a mixture of class time and field trips for observation and examination.
How to Apply
Email: FLTipperary@lit.ie or Maureen.Ryan@lit.ie
Phone: +353 504 28112
Web: www.lit.ie/Flexiblelearning
Tuesday, 15th September 2015, at 08.45
SUCCESS!!
Atlantic Salmon – Lost at Sea!
We did it! We did it! YOU DID IT! How do we begin to thank each and every one of you for all the support you’ve shown us? One way is to share how grateful we are that so many backers (over 300 and counting) have joined us on this incredible journey. Because of you, we will be able to take our 6 years of research and dedication to this important cause and produce a film that will tell the epic tale of the Wild Atlantic Salmon. It is a dramatic story about the King of Fish. It is a great species threatened; our film will create a dialog about salmon and its environment. THANK YOU for believing in us, supporting us and for contributing and spreading the word with such enthusiasm! We promise to make you proud of the final cut and look forward to keeping everyone updated along the way. It’s going to be an amazing film we can all feel great about!
THANK YOU!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1121132260/atlantic-salmon-lost-at-sea/posts/1349549
Friday, 11th September 2015, at 14.45
Atlantic Salmon Summit
Only 3 weeks to the Atlantic Salmon Summit (1-3 October)
Over 40 speakers from Europe and overseas have confirmed their participation. They will contribute to our rich programme, compiled by an international group of experts.
We are pleased to announce the presence of Laura Wildmann (USA), Princeton Hydro, Specialist in Dam Removal North America. She will join the special evening on Dam Decommissioning in US and Europe (Friday evening)
More good news: the Swiss Federal Ministry, the Swiss Canton Aargau and EDF (Electricté de France) have joined the group of financial supporters of the summit.
Don’t miss this unique occasion to work on the future of the Rhine Salmon and other migrating fish!
Let’s improve the conditions in the Sea and the Rhine River Basin for a consistent and sustained return of all migrating fish.
This event has the patronage of the International Commission of the Protection of the Rhine and will be simultaneously translated into French, German, English and Dutch.
Third call for registration
Register now.
More information, rates, Hotels and practical information are available on our Website www.salmon-summit.org
For any questions on reductions and more please contact:
Tel: +33 6 21 84 47 93
Sunday, 30th August 2015, at 14.00
THE FRESHWATER DETECTIVE
Autumn 2015
UCD COURSE
&
LIMERICK IT COURSES
(Clonmel and Limerick City Campuses)
____________________________________
Ken’s very popular Life Long Learning course will take place this autumn in UCD and Limerick IT.
Book early if you are not to be disappointed!!
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Programme%202015%20-%202016%20PDF.pdf
https://sisweb.ucd.ie/usis/W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=ADULTEDCOURSES
You can book for the UCD course on : http://www.ucd.ie/adulted/
Page 63 of the UCD Brochure
Code: AUTUMN AE-HN102
Ken Whelan
Fresh water is an ever more valuable and sought after natural resource. The island of Ireland possesses an aquatic heritage which is unique in Europe. Packed into a land area of just 84,000 km2 is a vast array of loughs, rivers and streams. Some of the bolder strewn, brassy river channels flash by for all to see; some are hidden from view and furtively skirt unnoticed along the edges of the hedgerows. Still others flow largely beneath our feet, only appearing above ground for tantalisingly short periods. Our lakes are shallow, often wind swept and amongst the most highly productive still-waters in the world. Easily damaged by over-enrichment, they demand careful and thoughtful stewardship. During our course we will examine this unique resource: its sources and origin, its contribution to biological diversity and its importance for the landscape and for humans. The course will teach the basics of becoming a Freshwater Detective and how, using the presence or absence of specific insects or fish, to read a river corridor or lake shore. This in turn will ensure that students can become guardians of this unique Irish resource. The course will comprise six talks and four field visits.
UCD, BELFIELD, Dublin 4
6 Mondays 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Classroom: Sept 28, Oct 5, 12, 19, Nov 2, 9
(No class Oct 26 – bank holiday weekend)
4 Saturdays 11.00am – 1.00pm
Field Trips: Oct 3, 10, 17, and Nov 14
Fee €190
Contact Details :
UCD Adult Education Centre, Library Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4
Tel: (01) 716-7123
Email: adult.education@ucd.ie
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.30am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm
_____________________________________________________________________________
LIMERICK IT COURSES
(Clonmel and Limerick City Campuses)
The Freshwater Detective Course is also available this year at the Limerick Institute of Technology. The course will run over four full days (Fridays and Saturdays), on consecutive weeks.
The Clonmel course is scheduled for the 6th / 7th and the 20th /21st November.
The Limerick City course (venue yet to be confirmed) will run on the 27th / 28th November and the 4th / 5th December.
Do book early as attendance is limited! You can book for the Limerick IT courses on – FLTipperary@lit.ie or by contacting Maureen.Ryan@lit.ie
_________________________________________________
Feedback from previous courses:
“Really inspirational tutor”
“Superb teacher with great experience to share”
“Ken Whelan is an excellent and engaging tutor”
“One of the best courses I have ever been on”
“Ken brings huge knowledge, humour and enthusiasm to his work”
“ Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic lecturer”
Saturday, 29th August 2015, at 12.30
Welsh Sewin
On Monday and Tuesday last (24th and 25th August) I had the great pleasure of fishing the River Dyfi (Dovey) in Wales with my good friends Graeme Harris and Illtyd Griffiths. Under such expert tutelage I could hardly go wrong! Following heavy rain on Sunday, which really seemed to stir up the fish, the river fished exceptionally well on Monday. Tuesday was a little more challenging but I still managed a fine sea trout at dusk on one of Graeme’s famous Twists! There is no doubt that the Welsh sewin (sea trout) rivers are amongst the best in the world and easily accessible to Irish anglers.
Friday, 21st August 2015, at 12.10
River and Night Fishing, Sea Trout Course and The Freshwater Detective, 2015
Following on from our very successful Match the Hatch (http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/great-enthusiasm-all-around-for-match-the-hatch-angling-event-held-near-balbriggan-co-dublin-1.2075866), river trout fishing and salmon fishing courses, Jason O’Riordan and I held our first sea trout course last weekend, on the River Slaney’s Clohamon Fishery. It proved a great success and gave several of the participants their first experience of fishing with their ears! Kuba Standera’s stunning images capture the magical beauty of this iconic stretch of river at night. Our thanks to our good friend Denis O’Toole who provided yet another masterful display of fly tying. Thanks also to the Clohamon Fishery, the FCL Secondary School in Bunclody, the Millrace Hotel and the many excellent accommodation providers who made the weekend such a success!
Jason and I will be at the Irish Fly Fair (http://www.irishflyfair.com/) in November, where we will be outlining our full suite of courses for 2016. In the meantime watch out for details of the autumn Match the Hatch Courses on fisheries such as Courtlough Fishery, near Balbriggan. (http://www.courtlough.ie/trout-fishing/).
I’m running my very popular Freshwater Detective course (Code:AEHN102 – https://sisweb.ucd.ie/usis/W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=ADULTEDCOURSES) in both UCD and Limerick IT this autumn – [Clonmel – 6/7 and 20th /21st November & Limerick City – 27th /28th November and 4th /5th December].
Do book early as attendance is limited. You can book for UCD on : http://www.ucd.ie/adulted/ and for the Limerick IT courses on – FLTipperary@lit.ie
Wednesday, 19th August 2015, at 16.50
UPDATE
The Kickstarter Campaign is going really well and we have pledges of almost $20,000 over the first 5 days of the initiative! Many thanks if you have already pledged some funding for the project.
If you have not yet contributed please remember:
- The Kickstarter campaign is time limited (30 days)!
- If we do not reach our target ($50k) we cannot draw on any of the pledges made by our supporters!
- Smaller donations, of $10 to $50, are making quite a difference to the daily totals raised!
Visit us on:
ATLANTIC SALMON LOST AT SEA!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1121132260/atlantic-salmon-lost-at-sea
Friday, 14th August 2015, at 11.50
ATLANTIC SALMON LOST AT SEA!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1121132260/atlantic-salmon-lost-at-sea
I would like to introduce you to an exciting project supported by the Atlantic Salmon Trust: the film, ‘Atlantic Salmon – Lost at Sea!’
It has been my pleasure to work closely with the producer Deirdre Brennan who has been making this film for 6 years in the rivers of Europe, North America, Iceland, Greenland, and at sea in the Atlantic Ocean. It tells the story of the collapse in abundance of wild Atlantic salmon over the last thirty years. The film records the urgent quest to try to solve the mystery of the salmon’s life at sea and to answer the question: “why are salmon dying in greater numbers than ever before in their ocean environment and not returning to their native rivers?”
The film, takes the viewer on a journey through the mysterious world of the King of Fish, and highlights some of the important research, conservation and restoration work of AST and others in all the wild Atlantic salmon countries. It describers the ground-breaking research programme to track salmon on their epic migration to try to find out why and where they are dying at sea. Filming is now complete and it is ready to edit. In order to raise the last 10% of the budget needed, Deirdre has embarked on a Kickstarter campaign to bring in funds to finish the project. Kickstarter is a crowd-funding platform and in its 10 years has raised over $1.6 billion for creative projects, including many documentary films. All projects are vetted in advance. It is an all or nothing principle – if the goal is not reached, then no money changes hands. The campaign is for 30 days and will run until September 15th. The goal is €45,000. Please support this most worthwhile venture. Its aim is to raise public awareness about the plight of our salmon. The film will be used widely at national, regional and local levels to raise money for salmon conservation. By contributing money – as much as you can afford, no matter how small an amount – to the film you are therefore directly supporting our international campaign to save the salmon.
Please see the link below for more details:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1121132260/atlantic-salmon-lost-at-sea
AST, supported by the Spey, Dee and Esks District Fishery Boards, has already contributed £12,000 to the project. Please help us to finish the job, by donating through Kickstarter – even €10 would help.
I trust we have your support.
With best wishes
Ken
Professor Ken Whelan
Research Director
Atlantic Salmon Trust
Website: www.atlanticsalmontrust.org
Saturday, 25th July at 11.45
Lough Lene – The Irish Chew – is quite some fishery !!
http://fishinginireland.info/news/trout-reports/rainbows/lene-rainbows-to-7lb-on-perch-fry/
In the early 80’s Martin O ‘Grady and I urged the Central Fisheries Board to rethink their whole policy on the use of rainbow trout in our sport fisheries. We strongly recommended the stocking of Lough Owel with large numbers of high quality, rainbow trout summerlings and parr. In our view such a policy would have revolutionised trout fishing in the Irish midlands. I subsequently showed just how effective such an approach could be when I stocked Ballinlough, near Westport in Co Mayo, with summerling (steelhead) rainbows. Over the subsequent years it was clear just how much demand there was for high quality, naturalised rainbow trout fisheries in Ireland; rainbows and Irish karst limestone terrain is an explosive mix! The availability of rainbow, all-female triploids now makes such an approach even more attractive and cost effective.
Well done to Tommy Fagan, Dick Mockler and their colleagues in the Lough Lene Angling Association for their super management of a first class trout fishery. It now rivals any of the major reservoir fisheries in the UK and could be accurately described as the Irish Chew!
Friday, 24th July at 11.15
Looks as if the determined efforts of AST and other sister conservation bodies to bring about an end to mixed stock salmon netting in Scotland may be about to pay off!!
MARINE SCOTLAND STATEMENT
BAN THE KILLING OF WILD SALMON EXCEPT UNDER LICENCE AND ACCOMPANYING CARCASS TAGGING SCHEME 1. In terms of paragraph 11 of schedule 1 to the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Act) notice is hereby given that the Scottish Ministers propose to make conservation regulations under section 38 of the Act to introduce a licensing system for the killing of wild salmon in Scotland and a prohibition on the taking of salmon outwith inland waters. This follows the 12 week public consultation seeking views on a ban on the killing of wild salmon except under licence together with an accompanying carcass tagging scheme and the potential for restrictions on the use of baits and lures. The general effect of this proposal will be: a. to prohibit the taking of Atlantic salmon outwith inland waters b. to prohibit the killing of salmon in Scotland without a licence 2. The licences will limit the number of fish which may be taken by the licence holder in a specified area. The Scottish Ministers will have the power to amend, suspend or revoke a licence and applicants, or licence holders, will have the right to challenge decisions made by the Scottish Ministers. 3. Under section 38(7) of the Act it is an offence to act in contravention of the regulations or to fail to take any action required to comply with a requirement of the regulations. If a person is found guilty of such an offence they will be liable to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale. 4. Salmon continue to face many pressures in the marine and freshwater environment and the latest Marine Scotland Science stock status report for 2014 shows a decline in stocks over the last few years www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/04/6918/downloads. The proposed licensing system will provide a new mechanism for the Scottish Ministers to control the killing of wild salmon ensuring that where harvesting of stocks takes place it is sustainable. 5. It is envisaged that applications will be assessed using the best available information on the number of returning salmon over a five year period. Assessments will be made on the basis of fishery districts with special considerations to be taken into account for special areas of conservation under the Habitats Directive (“SACs”). If the estimated number of returning salmon is greater than that required to meet the conservation objective there is a harvestable surplus and a licence may be issued. Any harvestable surplus will be allocated between fisheries within a district/SAC in line with their respective catches considered over a five year period. This will be subject to review. 6. The regulations will be reviewed alongside the progression of emerging recommendations from the wild fisheries reform programme. 7. The licensing regime will be accompanied by a carcass tagging scheme to aid enforcement of any kill licence granted. The carcass tagging scheme will require that any salmon taken must have an individually numbered tag affixed to the carcass. 8. During the 12 week consultation we also sought views on the restriction of certain baits and lures to aid the safe release of any salmon caught by rod and line. It is clear from our consultation that there is a wide range of views on the use of baits and lures, good practice guides and the existing voluntary restrictions on their use. We intend to consider further before looking to progress any future legislation 9. In parallel, Marine Scotland launched a week long online discussion forum today on the detail of the kill licence regime, including the application process, context and parameters; and accompanying carcass tagging scheme and further views on the use of baits and lures. Details of how to participate can be accessed on the Marine Scotland website: www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Salmon-TroutCoarse/fishreform/licence 10. Representations or objections in respect of the proposed conservation regulations should be submitted by 19 August 2015 using the contact details below. Representations shall include, where relevant, details of any financial implications particularly related to loss of income. Fiona Hepburn Marine Scotland Salmon and Recreational Fisheries Team Area 1B North Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ Email: salmonandrecreationalfisheries@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Wednesday, 1st July at 13.00
Fly Fishing Dreams Calendar
Where the love of fly fishing and photography meet…
Are you interested in purchasing or stocking this world renowned, David Lambroughton (http://www.davidlambroughton.com/) calendar? The Fly Fishing Dreams Calendar is a large format (12” x 24” / 30cm x 60cm) celebration of fly fishing and photography.
16 months – September 2015 to December 2016
Stocks now available in Ireland!
Please contact me for further details: ken@kenwhelan.info
Wednesday, 1st July at 10.00
River and Night Fishing, Sea Trout Course
Clohamon Fishery, River Slaney, Bunclody, Co Wexford
One of Ireland’s Premier Salmon and Sea Trout Beats
15th / 16th August 2015
Following our very successful Match the Hatch (http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/great-enthusiasm-all-around-for-match-the-hatch-angling-event-held-near-balbriggan-co-dublin-1.2075866), river fishing and salmon fishing courses, we are pleased to confirm a date and a venue for our River and Night Fishing, Sea Trout Course on Saturday 15th and the morning of Sunday 16th August. This event will be held on the River Slaney’s Clohamon Fishery a premier, east coast, salmon and sea trout fishery. The course will include both classroom and river bank components. Participants will have access to this prime river beat for night fishing on the 15th August and for daytime fishing on the morning of the 16th August. The course will run from 14.00 on the afternoon of the 15th until well into darkness, and continue on the morning of the 16th from 09.30 am to 12.30 pm. An evening meal will be provided. A selection of accommodation will be available, as required, in the Bunclody area. Price options will be circulated in due course.
Participants will receive a boxed selection of 6 recommended sea trout flies. A range of Denis O’Toole’s masterful sea trout flies, as displayed in Ken’s recent book Nomads of the Tides, will be available for purchase.
During the course participants may also purchase signed copies of the highly acclaimed book: Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea-Trout ( Chris McCully and Ken Whelan (2014) – http://www.medlarpress.com/code/index.html#!/Nomads-of-the-Tides/p/21216824)
The cost of the course will be €200 per participant (excluding accommodation).
Are you interested in booking for this unique course? A number of participants have pre-booked their places but some slots are still free.
If so please let either of us know a.s.a.p. joriordan0@gmail.com or ken@kenwhelan.info
Saturday, 23rd May at 13.oo
Following our very successful Match the Hatch (http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/great-enthusiasm-all-around-for-match-the-hatch-angling-event-held-near-balbriggan-co-dublin-1.2075866), river fishing and salmon fishing courses, we are planning a River and Night Fishing, Sea Trout Course for the 11th July. This event will be held on a premier, east coast, sea trout fishery and will include both classroom and river bank components. Participants will have access to a prime river beat, at the peak of the sea trout run, for night fishing. The course will run from 14.00 on the afternoon of the 11th until well into darkness on the morning of the 12th. An evening meal will be provided. A selection of accommodation will be available for those hardy souls wishing to fish Falkus-style throughout the hours of darkness!
19.5.15 River and Night Fishing for Sea Trout kw and jor
Lough Lene, Collinstown
http://www.loughleneanglingassociation.com/
What a great dry fly fishery!
Monday, 27th April 2015 at 13.15
Match the Hatch, River Annalee – Ken Whelan and Jason O’Riordan
Course run courtesy of the Cavan Anglers ( http://www.cavananglersclub.com/) and the Bunnoe Anglers
Thanks to everybody who turned out yesterday for the Match the Hatch course on the beautiful River Annalee, at Ballyhaise, Co Cavan. It was a great pleasure for Jason and I to work with such an enthusiastic group of anglers! The feedback from participants has been excellent:
“Another brilliant course!”
“Great course Jason and Ken , quite a revelation.”
“We all really enjoyed the day in Ballyhaise…..so a big thank you to Ken
and Jason, from all at Cavan Anglers and Bunnoe Anglers.”
More river courses and a unique course on sea trout fishing, to follow over the coming months.
Contact Jason or myself to register your interest (ken@kenwhelan.info).
Next Event: Don’t forget Jason’s very popular salmon fishing course on the Blackwater, 17th May ( http://gamefishingireland.ie/blog/)
Sunday, 12th April 2015 at 12.00
Mooney Goes Wild is Back!!
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/mooney/
Don’t forget to tune in on RTÉ 1 – Tonight, Sunday 12th April, – 22.00 to 23.00 – Friday (RTÉ Radio 1, 4am-5am), Saturday (RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, 10am-11am)
eDNA & Salmon
Mooney Goes Wild’s resident marine biologist, Ken Whelan, joins Derek, Richard and Eanna in studio to describe the work of Dr Jens Carlsson and his team in UCD, who are planning to use environmental DNA to trace the whereabouts of juvenile salmon, who, it is feared, are ending up in the nets of giant trawlers at sea…
Wednesday, 25th March 2015 at 17.50
Slaney Rod Fishers Association
AGM to be held on Friday, 24 April at 7.30pm in the Millrace Hotel Bunclody.
In the attached letter acting Chairman Ken Whelan outlines some of last year’s events and the key issues facing the river and looks forward to a productive debate. All, including non-members with an interest in the river, are welcome to attend.
25.3.15 Chairman’s Letter – SRT AGM 24.3.15
Sunday, 22nd March 2015 at 10.50
NEW!!
FINAL 26.4.15 rivers and streams flyer
MATCH THE HATCH – Rivers and Streams Course
Sunday, 26th April 2015
10.00 to 1700
Course Fee: €70
Annalee River, Ballyhaise, Co Cavan
See full details attached.
– with Jason O Riordan
see: http://gamefishingireland.ie/blog/
….More details to follow
Contact: ken@kenwhelan.info
Thursday, 26h February 2015 at 14.40
The Freshwater Detective – Goes Regional!
Ken Whelan’s very popular life- long learning course, The Freshwater Detective, will be run in late March on the Limerick Institute of Technology Campus in Clonmel and on neighbouring rivers and streams.
A coup for Limerick IT!
“Getting Ken to deliver this very popular course in Clonmel, away from its normal Dublin home, is quite a coup for Limerick IT” said Seamus Hoyne, Head of Department, Flexible Learning, atLimerick Institute of Technology. “With the assistance of the local angling clubs Ken has located some stunning sites for his field programme on the main River Suir and its tributaries. I’m sure the course will make the rivers and streams come alive for the participants and they will see these waters in a completely different light once they have completed the course.”
Ken explained that …”the course is designed to accommodate anybody with an interest in aquatic wildlife, whether they are keen on nature conservation, the Tipperary countryside or angling. Since the early 60’s I’ve fished the Suir and its many tributaries. It’s a great privilege for me to gather together a group of keen local naturalists, to share with them my knowledge of the area and to learn from them about their experiences in observing these unique waterways”.
Key Programme details
Dates: March 20/21, 2015 and 27 / 28, 2015
Delivery: The programme will be delivered over two weekends and include a Friday evening (6-9pm) and Saturdays (9-4pm). The programme will include a mixture of class time and field trips for observation and examination.
Cost: €175
How to Apply
Email: FLTipperary@lit.ie
Phone: 0504 28112
Web: www.lit.ie/Flexiblelearning or http://www.www.kenwhelan.info/blog/
Be sure to ask for a pdf of the course details when applying on-line for details of the course.
Entry Requirements
An interest in learning and understanding our fresh-water resources! No prior knowledge of freshwater biology is required. The course will be delivered in an easy, conversational style by a very experienced communicator.
Monday, 2nd February 2015 at 12.00
The Mysterious Sea Trout
Tomorrow evening, Tuesday 3rd February, I’ll be giving a talk on The Mysterious Sea Trout as part of theIrish Wild Life Trusts’ (http://www.iwt.ie/ ) Green Drink Talk Series.
The event is open to the public and all are welcome.
Venue:
Sweetman’s Pub, O’Connell St ( http://jwsweetman.ie/index.html ) at 1900, Tuesday, 3rd February.
Summary
Some 30,000 years ago the global climate cooled as incoming solar radiation declined and the polar ice cap and the North American and European ice sheets expanded to a size that had not been experienced in the previous 400,000 years. By 22,000 years ago the islands of Britain and Ireland were completely covered by ice and all animal and plant life was lost. Around 14,000 years ago the climate turned far milder, allowing the first re-colonisation of the land and freshwater, and by 7,000 years this colonisation was complete. At this time migratory trout invaded freshwater and established the populations of migratory and resident trout we see today. These migratory trout spend much of their lives in saltwater and yet research to date has largely concentrated on their relatively brief stay in freshwater. In this talk Ken will describe how, over the past six years, he and Chris McCully set about locating shoals of sea trout in estuaries and bays around the Irish coast; studying their behaviour patterns and formulating some new ideas about how and when they might have reached our shores.
Sunday, 1st February 2015 at 15.00
The Freshwater Detective – Goes Regional!
Limerick IT – Clonmel Campus, Co Tipperary – March 2015
Ken’s ever popular Life Long Learning course will take place this spring in Clonmel, Co Tipperary (Limerick IT, Campus).
Book early if you are not to be disappointed!!
Background:
The island of Ireland possesses an aquatic heritage which is unique in Europe. Packed into a land area of just 84,000 km2 is a vast array of loughs, rivers and streams. Some of the bolder strewn, brassy river channels flash by for all to see; some are hidden from view. Our lakes are shallow, and amongst the most highly productive still-waters in the world. Easily damaged by over-enrichment, they demand careful and thoughtful stewardship. During our course we will examine this unique resource: its sources and origin, its contribution to biological diversity and its importance for the landscape and for humans. This course will teach the basics of becoming a Freshwater Detective and how, using the presence or absence of specific insects or fish, to read a river corridor or lake shore. This in turn will ensure that students can become guardians of this unique Irish resource. The course will comprise six talks and four field visits.
Key Programme Details
Duration: March 20/21 2015 and 27 / 28 2015
Delivery: The programme will be delivered over two weekends and include a Friday evening (6-9pm) and Saturdays (9-4pm). The programme will include a mixture of class time and field trips for observation and examination.
How to Apply
Email: FLTipperary@lit.ie
Phone: +353 (0)504 28112
or
Email: ken@kenwhelan.info
Phone: +353 (0) 867835900
27.1.15 Poster Freshwater Detective
Wednesday, 28th January 2015 at 10.45
Atlantic Salmon Trust Auction 2015
www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/auction
Only 19 days left!!
Don’t forget to visit the auction site!! Some stunning offers – chalk stream fishing, salmon fishing on some of the world’s best rivers, hunting, even bespoke jewellery!!
Tuesday, 27th January 2015 at 13.00
Match the Hatch Course
Ken Whelan
&
Jason O’Riordan
The second of these popular courses will be held on Sunday, 1st March at Rathcon Fishery, Grangecon, Co Wicklow (http://www.rathcon.com/fishing.htm). Feedback from the first course has been excellent (http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/great-enthusiasm-all-around-for-match-the-hatch-angling-event-held-near-balbriggan-co-dublin-1.2075866 ) and we are looking forward to greeting another group of anglers to our second course in a few weeks’ time. Space on the course is limited and you would be well advised to book early!!
In this intensive one day course learn how to:
- Fish imitative flies with success
- Insect / invertebrate Identification
- Select flies to match the trout’s diet
- Sample the insects from your local water
The second in the series of these very successful one day courses will be held on Sunday, 1st March at Rathcon Fishery, Grangecon, Co Wicklow (http://www.rathcon.com/fishing.htm)
Price: €90, lunch included. A €20 deposit is required. Deposit payment by cheque, electronic bank transfer or PayPal (email ken: ken@kenwhelan.info, to arrange this). Deposits can be paid in cash at the Fishery.
Course format
· Phase 1: (Classroom) – slides and images as an introduction to small still water entomology, including images of what we may find in the lake. A summary of the various life cycles (including fry) and the sequence of insect hatches throughout the season.
· Phase 2: – (Classroom) – going through the fly boxes and linking the imitations with the natural animals. Emphasis will be placed on how the insects (aquatic and terrestrial), crustaceans / snails move and how the flies move in the water and at what depth. A description of relevant techniques.
LUNCH
· Phase 3: – collecting and sorting the natural invertebrates into groups along the lake shore – a great emphasis will again be placed on how the various creatures move, at the key stages in their life cycle.
· Phase 4: – angling approaches, gear, display of still water tackle, techniques and leader set ups – trying out the various techniques – if you catch a fish or two for us, we will carry out a lake-side autopsy.
Hope to see you on the course!
Ken, Jason and Dermot,
Ireland Angling Expo – Swords, 2015
Ken and Jason are really looking forward to the Ireland Angling Expo on the 21st and 22nd February ( http://maramedia.ie/index.php/irish-angling-expo) where they will use Kuba Standera’s stunning images to give a graphically illustrated talk on imitative fly fishing for a range of species: trout, sea trout, bass and pike.
Thursday, 22nd January 2015 at 20.45
Match the Hatch Course
The Match the Hatch course we ran last weekend at Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan (http://www.courtlough.ie/trout-fishing/ ) was a great success. Jason has reported more fully on our adventures in his blog (http://gamefishingireland.ie/blog/ ). It only remains for me to thank the enthusiastic participants, Garrett Ruigrok (Courtlough Fishery Manager), Bill Flynn and all the staff at Courtlough for making the day so pleasant and enjoyable. Particular thanks are due to Derek Evans from the Irish Times, who joined us on the course and Kuba Standera for his stunning photographs! Based on the very positive feedback it seems we are doing something right!
“Thanks a lot for a great course today. Full of great information and tips to keep the vice going! Plenty of food for thought about food for trout! I’ll definitely be seeing ye for your other courses during the year.”
“I really enjoyed it and found it very informative…Looking forward to other courses you and Jason are running!”
Thursday, 15th January 2015 at 10.30
Louth Meath FM –
I did an interview yesterday (14th January 2015) on salmon at sea with Gerry Kelly, on the Late Lunch show.
You can hear the pod cast on: http://www.lmfm.ie/On-Air/Late-Lunch
The interview runs from minute 42 to minute 57 of the show.
Friday, 9th January 2015 at 10.30
Match the Hatch Course
Don’t forget to register for the Match the Hatch Course on Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan, Sunday 18th January – only one or two places remaining – ken@kenwhelan.info
We sampled the lake yesterday and found an abundance of trout food, including a spectacular population of damsel fly nymphs. A quick change to the appropriate imitation produced some real beauties for Ger and Jason!
Match The Hatch
The first in a series of one day courses will be held on Sunday, 18th January at Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan, Dublin (http://www.courtlough.ie/trout-fishing/)
The course will comprise:
In this intensive one day course learn how to:
Fish imitative flies with success
Insect / invertebrate Identification
Select flies to match the trout’s diet
Sample the insects from your local water
- Phase 1: (classroom) – slides and images as an introduction to small still water entomology, including images of what we may find in the lake. A summary of the various life cycles (including fry) and the sequence of insect hatches throughout the season.
- Phase 2: – collecting and sorting the insects into groups along the lake shore
LUNCH
- Phase 3: – going through the fly boxes and tying in the imitations with the natural animals. Emphasis will be placed on how the insects (aquatic and terrestrial) , crustaceans / snails move and how the flies move in the water and at what depth
- Phase 4: – angling approaches, gear, display of still water tackle, techniques and leader set ups
Sunday, 28th December 2014 at 13.00
1st January 2015 – see Opening Day of the 2015 Salmon Season on the Drowes, live, as it unfolds!! –http://farsondigitalwatercams.com/locations/kinlough
Visit AST Live River Pictures
http://farsondigitalwatercams.com/pages/atlantic_salmon_trust_sign_up
Use Promotional Code: AST-2015
Remember €6 / £5 of each subscription go to the research and conservation work of AST!
AST in partnership with Farson Digital Watercams takes a new initiative to provide river users with valuable benefits and contribute to conservation of wild Atlantic salmon
AST’s new partnership with Farson Digital Watercams enables us to bring to our supporters, and lovers of salmon, trout, and their freshwater habitats, live pictures of rivers in Ireland and the UK. At present we have over 120 separate cameras, each one carefully sited in a prime position overlooking a section of a salmon or trout river. We plan to extend coverage by increasing the number of watercams to more than 200 and, before the end of 2015, going abroad to bring to your computer screen live pictures of your favourite river in some of the other wild Atlantic salmon countries of the North Atlantic seaboard.
But it is not only-real time pictures you will receive. There will be weather forecasts, flood warnings and a wealth of data on temperature, rainfall and river levels, soon we hope to be accompanied by catches information. As the network expands and the information becomes more detailed and precisely tuned to the needs of anglers and other river users we will keep the annual fee that provides access to these iconic river views as low as we possibly can, whilst continuing to contribute more than 25% of the fee directly to salmon conservation projects.
Come and join our growing network of live views of some of our most beautiful rivers, at the same time as contributing to conservation of wild salmon and trout. I am sure you will find them to be useful, not to mention opportunities they provide to make visits to your favourite rivers from your desk, or dream about visits to new ones. Improved clear pictures with current and historical data on weather, rainfall and water levels will give you access to over 120 cameras and the information you need to enjoy your favourite river. The unique package of live images, information and our commitment to conservation offers excellent value at an annual subscription of €22 / £18.
Match the Hatch Course
Don’t forget to register for the Match the Hatch Course on Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan, Sunday 18th January. Spaces are now limited and you will need to bbok over the next week or so to secure a place.
Match The Hatch (http://gamefishingireland.ie/blog/ )
The course will comprise:
- Phase 1: (classroom) – slides and images as an introduction to small still water entomology, including images of what we may find in the lake. A summary of the various life cycles (including fry) and the sequence of insect hatches throughout the season.
- Phase 2: – collecting and sorting the insects into groups along the lake shore
LUNCH
- Phase 3: – going through the fly boxes and tying in the imitations with the natural animals. Emphasis will be placed on how the insects (aquatic and terrestrial) , crustaceans / snails move and how the flies move in the water and at what depth
- Phase 4: – angling approaches, gear, display of still water tackle, techniques and leader set ups
In this intensive one day course learn how to:
- Fish imitative flies with success
- Insect / invertebrate Identification
- Select flies to match the trout’s diet
- Sample the insects from your local water
The first in a series of one day courses will be held on Sunday, 18th January at Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan, Dublin (http://www.courtlough.ie/trout-fishing/)
Saturday, 22nd November 2014 at 12.00
Match the Hatch – Small Stillwaters Course
Ken Whelan & Jason O’Riordan
In this intensive one day course learn how to:
- Fish imitative flies with success
- Insect / invertebrate Identification
- Select flies to match the trout’s diet
- Sample the insects from your local water
The first in a series of one day courses will be held on Sunday, 17th January 2015,
at Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan, Dublin (http://www.courtlough.ie/trout-fishing/)
Time: 10.00 to 16.00 – lunch included
To Book, contact either myself or Jason:
ken.whelan@hotmail.com and joriordan0@gmail.com
For further details see: http://gamefishingireland.ie/blog/
Thursday, 13th November 2014 at 10.30
NOMADS OF THE TIDES – Fishing for Irish Sea Trout
Chris McCully and Ken Whelan
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT – ORDER YOUR COPY NOW
Available from:
Medlar Press: http://www.medlarpress.com/8166-Fishing-Books-Nomads-of-the-Tides_by_McCully–Whelan.html
Southside Angling: http://www.southsideangling.ie/
Rory’s Fishing Tackle: http://www.rorys.ie/content.php?ID=1
Hampton Books:93A Morehampton Rd, Dublin 4. Tel:+353 1667 3072
Moorbrook Lodge: http://www.moorbrooklodge.co.uk/
Courtlough Fly Fishing: http://www.courtlough.ie/trout-fishing/
Clonanav Fly Fishing: http://www.irishflyfishingshop.com/catalog/
Reviews:
“If you collect together all the words that have ever been written about sea-trout in Ireland, and put them together between the same set of covers, the result will be a pale shadow of the tome that McCully and Whelan have delivered……..Truly, they do not write books like this anymore, almost certainly because you don’t come across such stellar combinations of writers more than once in an epoch.”
Andrew Herd – Waterlog Magazine
“The scientific writing describes this sea/land species in ways that anadromy has never been so completely and understandably explained. Irish sea-trout jump off the pages into our imaginations as true, even spiritual, “nomads of the tides.” One must read Nomads to understand them and to better comprehend the miracle of genetic adaptation they share with Atlantic salmon, both fish that come from the sea to spawn in fresh water.”
John Randolph – Fly Fisherman Magazine ( http://www.flyfisherman.com/)
“It is commendably well written, painstakingly researched, laden with interesting history and full of fascinating detail. I shall treasure it on my bookshelf as a never ending source of information and inspiration….. a book to keep and refer to and to dip into year after year, or just to read for pleasure.”
Edwin Oxlade – Trout and Salmon Magazine
“…a true labour of love….It will prove invaluable to all sportsmen who seek those silver runners in the Emerald Isle…(it includes) a trenchant section on science by Dr Whelan, the fisheries expert…Dr McCully is a talented writer and his personal style makes the entire book a delight.”
David Profumo, Country Life Magazine, February 19th, 2014
“Nomads of the Tides, co – authored by Chris McCully and Ken Whelan, is the definitive book on Irish sea trout fishing.”
Ashley Hayden – www.anirishanglersworld.com
“Nomads of the Tides explores fishing for sea-trout in estuaries – an area scarcely touched on to date….. un-precedented in scope and unrepeatable as a set of angling adventures. ”
Derek Evans – Irish Times
“University academic and fly angler, Chris McCully has teamed up with fisheries scientist Ken Whelan to log comprehensively 50 sea trout waters…they have set about the task with indefatigable gusto! My immediate reaction to Nomads of the Tides is that anyone buying it….is arguably three quarters of the way to being fully equipped when it comes to Irish Fly Fishing, merely awaiting the definitive book on Irish salmon for the full set. “
Jeffrey Prest – Fly Fisherman Magazine, April 2014
‘. . . an indispensable guide to fishing for sea-trout in Ireland’ –
Tim Jacklin Salmo Trutta – Wild Trout Trust Magazine
Saturday, 18th October 2014 at 20.00
(See my full update on Current Projects on my Projects page )
Fish Talk.TV – https://new.livestream.com/accounts/7862679 and https://www.facebook.com/FishTalkLive – Thursday, 23rd October 2014, 19.00
I’ve been invited to join my good friend Alan Broderick on his new angling magazine programme – Fish Talk .TV , next Thursday evening. It streams live on the internet every Thursday evening at 1900. Be sure to tune in this Thursday and every Thursday to enjoy this wonderfully innovative and novel approach to angling journalism!
Galway Fly Fair – 15th and 16th November
I’m really looking forward to the Galway Fly Fair where I’ll be describing my recent visit to the Kola Peninsula, courtesy of PINRO, the Polar Research Institute (http://www.pinro.ru/index_e.htm) and the Atlantic Salmon Reserve (http://www.kharlovka.com/ ) . In addition to the famous, world class salmon fishing, these remote catchments hold phenomenal stocks of other game fish species: brown trout, sea trout & charr. See: http://www.irishflyfair.com/talks_forums.html , for more details. I will also have signed copies of, Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea-Trout, available at the show.
Training and Teaching
My popular Freshwater Detective course is ongoing in UCD at present and other courses are planned for spring of 2015. I hope to have more details available on these new courses over the next few weeks. With my friend Jason O’Riordan (Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/South-East-Game-Angling), I’m currently planning a range of one day courses covering river craft, matching the hatch and associated, specialist trout angling techniques. These will be available on a number of well-known fisheries during the off season. More news on this over the coming weeks.
Thursday , 18th September 2014 at 12.30
FINAL FEW PLACES…JUST A FEW DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER!
The Freshwater Detective
UCD Course – Autumn 2014
Ken’s ever popular Life Long Learning course will take place this autumn in UCD.
Thanks to all of you who have registered so far and I look forward to meeting up on the 29th September. There are still some places left on the course. I would encourage you to register without delay to avoid disappointment!
You can find all of the details you require on:
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Programme%202014-2015%20PDF.pdf
Page 42 of the 2014 / 2015 UCD Adult Education Brochure Code: AUTUMN AE-HN102
KOLA PENINSULA
Just back from a fascinating visit to the upper reaches of some of the most prolific Atlantic salmon rivers in the world. What an adventure.. the ecology of these systems was a revelation! An amazing range of large resident and migratory fish species. I’ll be describing my trip to Derek on Mooney Goes Wild, RTE 1, Friday, 19th September at 1500. I’ll also be talking about my trip and how you can fish these areas at the Irish Fly Fair in Galway, 15th and 16th November – www.irishflyfair.com . Do come along. I’d be pleased to give you any advice I can on how you too can access this unique conservation zone – www.kharlovka.com
The Freshwater Detective – Update
UCD Course – Autumn 2014
Ken’s ever popular Life Long Learning course will take place this autumn in UCD.
Thanks to all of you who have registered so far and I look forward to meeting up on the 29th September. There are still some places left on the course. I would encourage you to register without delay to avoid disappointment!
You can find all of the details you require on:
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Programme%202014-2015%20PDF.pdf
Page 42 of the 2014 / 2015 UCD Adult Education Brochure Code: AUTUMN AE-HN102
or
On my Blog – http://www.www.kenwhelan.info/blog/
Tuesday, 19th August 2014 at 16.35
NEW!!!
THE FRESHWATER DECTECTIVE
UCD COURSE – autumn 2014
Ken’s ever popular Life Long Learning course will take place this autumn in UCD.
Book early if you are not to be disappointed!!
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Programme%202014-2015%20PDF.pdf
Page 42 of the UCD Brochure
Code: AUTUMN AE-HN102
Ken Whelan
The island of Ireland possesses an aquatic heritage which is unique in Europe. Packed into a land area of just 84,000 km2 is a vast array of loughs, rivers and streams. Some of the bolder strewn, brassy river channels flash by for all to see; some are hidden from view. Our lakes are shallow, and amongst the most highly productive still-waters in the world. Easily damaged by over-enrichment, they demand careful and thoughtful stewardship. During our course we will examine this unique resource: its sources and origin, its contribution to biological diversity and its importance for the landscape and for humans. This course will teach the basics of becoming a Freshwater Detective and how, using the presence or absence of specific insects or fish, to read a river corridor or lake shore. This in turn will ensure that students can become guardians of this unique Irish resource. The course will comprise six talks and four field visits.
UCD, BELFIELD, Dublin 4
6 Mondays 7.30pm-9.30pm
Sept 29, Oct, 13, 20, Nov 3, 10, 17
4 Saturdays 11.00am-1.00pm
Oct 11, 18, Nov 8, 15,
Contact Details :
UCD Adult Education Centre, Library Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4
Tel: (01) 716-7123
Email: adult.education@ucd.ie
Opening Hours:Monday to Friday: 9.30am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Tuesday, 8th July 2014 at 15.40
Launch of AST Small Streams Manual
Thanks to everybody who attended the talks and field visits to the Dibney River over the weekend. What a fantastic event… the Irish International Fly Fair never disappoints..booking for 2015 now open!!
Thursday, 19th June 2014 at 10.12
Irish International Fly Fair
July 5th and 6th 2014, Killyleagh, Co Down
Launch of Small Streams Assessment Manual
Monitoring Small Sea Trout Streams
Are you worried about the delicate network of small streams which are the very life blood of your fishery? Would you like to learn how to monitor and assess the health of such streams? Are you keen to gather information which will help conserve and enhance these vital arteries? If so, come along to the Irish International Fly Fair (http://www.irishinternationalflyfair.com/index.php) in KIllyleagh, Co Down, on Saturday, 5th July at 11.30, where Ken Whelan and Martin McGarrigle, of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, will describe and demonstrate the new small streams training manual developed by AST.
Institute of Fisheries Management – Tagging and Telemetry Workshop. Final Programme
Royal Armouries.
Leeds, England
22nd – 23rd July 2014
https://www.ifm.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=76
Wednesday, 10th June 2014 at 14.45
GAIA Open Day – 21st June 2014
Moorbrook Lodge – www.moorbrooklodge.co.uk/
Willie Holmes and my friends in GAIA (http://www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/) are hosting an open day at Moorbrook Lodge on the 21st June – 10.00 to 1700. Present will be some of the top casting instructors in the UK and Ireland and there will be demos on: flytying, single and double handed casting and fishing techniques, French nymphing for trout and salmon , single handed streamer fishing for salmon, Scandi Skagit and traditional double handed casting techniques. There’ll be lots of instruction and discussion between demos for all levels of experience. The cost is £25 with a burger or hotdog and you can fish on after the day ends at 5pm, places are limited and lots of anglers have already booked and paid. Children under 12 are free with a paying adult.
I’ll be on hand to chat about managing your fishery, wild or stocked and I’ll be signing/ dedicating copies of our sea trout book: Nomads of the Tides
Saturday, 3rd May 2014 at 15.15
Irish International Fly Fair – Killyleagh 2014
Looking forward to meeting you all at the Killyleagh Fly Fair in July……definitely one for the diary…not to be missed!! More details to follow over the next few weeks.
Wednesday, 29th April 2014 at 15.15
New Book!
I may be embarking on a new book. My co-author will be one of the country’s most successful and experienced anglers.
Negotiations with the publisher are ongoing and I hope to announce the details very shortly.
Trout Fishing in Waterford
I had a fascinating visit last week to the Carrigavantry Reservoir near Tramore. This is a beautiful, 30 acre lake, containing an abundance of trout food. A spot survey of the shoreline showed an abundance of lake olives, damsel flies, corixids, snails and some wonderful large sedges, including , plant encased, Murrough type larvae – Phryganeidae.
During the afternoon and Jason O’Riordan (http://gamefishingireland.ie/ ) and I had an opportunity to fish for a few hours and I was delighted with the quality of the fish we encountered. The rainbows were in pristine condition, fully finned, beautifully proportioned, and fat as butter. I also encountered a few of the larger stocked browns and was again impressed with the high quality of these fish. The reservoirs are open 10 to 11 months of the year and offer superb fishing. If you’re interested, a quick visit to the Waterford Anglers website will give you all the information you need ( http://waterfordflyfishing.ie/index.html ) . Do give the lakes a try!!
I’m due a visit with Jason to Carrigavantry’s sister reservoir, Knockaderry, in the near future…can’t wait!
Atlantic Salmon Lost at Sea – http://www.atlanticsalmonlostatsea.net/
I recently spent a few days filming in Cork with my colleague Deirdre Brennan and well known, wildlife cinematographer Rick Rosenthall (http://rickrosenthal.net/index.htm). We filmed some of my friends in the Zoology Department in UCC, who have developed world class genetic stock identification techniques for wild Atlantic salmon – popularly known as the CSI Salmon Lab! We were also lucky enough to encounter some wonderful outdoor light and our interview locations on the Bandon and Maigue Rivers gave us a series of backdrops you could only dream about!!
Thanks to everyone for your patience and good humour….filming is at times a very tedious business!
Sunday, 23rd March 2014 at 11.50
KW – fishing at the base of Mount Cook
Photo – David Lambroughton
South Island, New Zealand
Just after Christmas I had yet another, wonderful, four-week trip to New Zealand (see a selection of images on my photos page: http://www.www.kenwhelan.info/photos/new-zealand/). Thanks to everybody who was so supportive and helpful during my stay. Particular thanks are due to my good friend David Lambroughton who acted as: mentor, fishing advisor, wet wading consultant, photographic consultant and Michelin *** chef! (see- http://davidlambroughton.com/# for some of the most spectacular fishing images you are ever likely to come across). My brother Brendan and I fished some extraordinary waters and had what can only be described as spectacular fishing. I quickly learned to hate willows and what they can do to inexperienced and incompetent anglers, who allow large trout to dive into their tangled of roots, that they so effectively weave below the surface!
Bill Flynn and I are currently putting together a new travel company which will bring both anglers to fish in Ireland and also cater for European anglers who wish to taste some of the amazing fishing Bill and I have experienced in exotic locations around the globe, over the last 20 years. If you visit – www.courtloughflyfishing.ie – you will see our new, fledgling website. We are hoping to offer anglers visiting Ireland, fishing in the midland lakes, the west and the northwest. In terms of foreign travel, we hope to bring our first group to Slovenia and possibly to Newfoundland Labrador in 2014. We are currently working on a partnership deal with a major North American travel group and hope to offer a much wider range of packages in 2015, including of course trips to my two favourite homes from home, New Zealand and Slovenia.
If, in the meantime, you are planning a trip to New Zealand I can recommend two of the top guides in the South Island and an excellent guide in the North Island, all of whom I have fished with on my recent visits. I can personally vouch for their professionalism and the wonderful experience they provide to their clients:
South Island
Derek Grzelewski
Guided Fly Fishing with Derek
http://derekgrzelewski.com/trout_blog/index.php/guided_fly_fishing_with_derek/
Two highly acclaimed books by Derek: The Trout Diaries & The Trout Bohemia – see http://www.derekgrzelewski.com/
______________________________________________________
Casey Cravens
Wild Angler
http://www.wildangler.com/dunedin-fly-fishing-guides.htm
Wild Angler
Casey Cravens
70, Passmore Crescent,
Maori Hill,
Dunedin, New Zealand 9010
Phone: +64-3-473-8451
Mobile: 027 346 6903
e-Mail: caseycravens@netscape.net
Skype: caseycravens
__________________________________________________
North Island text
Mike Hughes
http://www.tongarirofishingguide.co.nz/contact.php
Tel: +64 (0) 4 905 0025 or +64 (0) 21 023 85008
____________________________________________
Friday, 28th February 2014 at 1445
Yet another great review for Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea Trout!
Country Life Magazine, February 19th, 2014
“…a true labour of love….It will prove invaluable to all sportsmen who seek those silver runners in the Emerald Isle…(it includes) a trenchant section on science by Dr Whelan, the fisheries expert…Dr McCully is a talented writer and his personal style makes the entire book a delight.”
David Profumo
Monday, 17th February 2014 at 0630
Dublin Angling Show
A happy customer, having purchased Nomads of the Tides at the Dublin Angling Show, Saturday 15th February.
Irish Specimen Fish Awards
Receiving my two Specimen Fish Awards for Golden Grey Mullet from Derek Davis and Robert Rosell at the Irish Specimen Fish Awards ceremony in Bewley’s Hotel, Saturday 15th February.
Friday, 14th February 2014 at 1230
Ireland Angling Show 2014
Get your signed copy of:
Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea-Trout
Chris McCully and Ken Whelan – with James Sadler
At the Courtlough Outdoors Stand at the Ireland Angling Show, Swords, this Saturday and Sunday – 15th and 16th February. See – http://maramedia.ie/homeirelandanglingexpo1
Ken whelan will be at the Irish Angling Expo to sign copies of his new book on sea-trout fishing. If you are one of the many anglers who bought a copy over Christmas please bring it along and Ken will be delighted to sign and dedicate your book for you. He will have some copies of the book available for sale on the stand at a price of €45 . Visit him on the Courtlough Outdoors Stand, where he and Bill Flynn will be glad to speak to you about their plans to organise angling holidays in Ireland and to host Irish anglers abroad in some of the world’s top destinations.
To see a selection of reviews of Nomads visit: http://www.www.kenwhelan.info/blog/
“If you collect together all the words that have ever been written about sea-trout in Ireland, and put them together between the same set of covers, the result will be a pale shadow of the tome that McCully and Whelan have delivered……..Truly, they do not write books like this any more, almost certainly because you don’t come across such stellar combinations of writers more than once in an epoch.”
Andrew Herd – Waterlog Magazine
“It is commendably well written, painstakingly researched, laden with interesting history and full of fascinating detail. I shall treasure it on my bookshelf as a never ending source of information and inspiration….. a book to keep and refer to and to dip into year after year, or just to read for pleasure.”
Edwin Oxlade – Trout and Salmon Magaine
“Nomads of the Tides, co – authored by Chris McCully and Ken Whelan, is the definitive book on Irish sea trout fishing.”
Ashley Hayden
“Nomads of the Tides explores fishing for sea-trout in estuaries – an area scarcely touched on to date….. un-precedented in scope and unrepeatable as a set of angling adventures. ”
Derek Evans – Irish Times
To purchase Nomads on-line (£35 + p&p):
http://www.medlarpress.com/8166-Fishing-Books-Nomads-of-the-Tides_by_McCully–Whelan.html
Nomads of The Tides
Tuesday, 31st December 2013 at 1200, noon
Encouraging Reviews for Nomads of the Tides!
Ashley Hayden
http://www.anirishanglersworld.com/index.php/media/irelands-sea-trout-a-definitive-account/
Ireland’s Sea Trout, a Definitive Account
Six years in gestation Nomads of the Tides co – authored by Chris McCully and Ken Whelan is the definitive book on Irish sea trout fishing. Driven by a narrative that transports the reader to a mid summer river bank as dusk falls, shadows lengthen and sedges dance, this wonderful publication is a must have for those anglers entranced by a species that to this day is still shrouded in mystery.
Passion and warmth underpin the narrative as the authors traverse the length and breadth of Ireland meeting, conversing, and of course fishing with like minded souls. Peter Wolstenholme and West Cork’s Argideen, the little silver stream, Eamon de Buitlear and the River Dargle, David Dobbs on the Slaney, amongst a host of others unlock the secrets of their special fisheries. Within each interaction men fleetingly become boys as authors and guides relive a tangible past in the present.
Sea trout have a special attraction, for this writer a passage written by Geoffrey Bucknall on night fishing Devon’s River Torridge was the catalyst. Capturing the atmosphere and approach to a tee, it took more than twenty years but I got there, not the Torridge but the Slaney. Positioned mid stream casting towards a long gut flowing under overhanging trees on the far bank. An upstream mend, flies dip, a solid wrenching take magnified in the half light, can a three quarter pound fish be this powerful?
Bewitched we anglers gladly succumb lured by a fish and punctuated moments that stay the course throughout our lives. Nomads of the Tidesencapsulates this perfectly. De Buitlear in the course of an interview talks about Bray locals back in the day calling sea trout “clowns”, derived from the Gaelic caile abhain (maiden of the river). Peal, a common term for the larger sea trout in Wales and South West England is also referred to, possibly derived from the Gaelic word Pil (the big one). Through these and other gems both McCully and Whelan unearth a connection with the species that transcends both time and the migration of man.
Containing memories, anecdotes, characters, places, methodology, and science within its 170,000 word, 480 page narrative, what the reader will feel most is the love affair Chris McCully, Ken Whelan, and their willing contributors have for “white trout” and their chosen pastime. Melding both an historic and a contemporary view of what sea trout represent within an Irish context, Nomads of the Tidesstands tall alongside Falkus Sea Trout Fishing and Harris and Morgan’s Successful Sea Trout Angling as a must have follow on to these seminal titles.
Derek Evans – Irish Times 23.12.13
Delight fore game-anglers as 50 Irish sea-trout waters are outlined in book
THE recently published Nomads of the Tides – Fishing for Irish Sea Trout, will make an ideal present at this time and belongs on every game angler’s bookshelf.
Written by Chris McCully and Ken Whelan, this lavish publication describes 50 Irish sea-trout waters – estuaries, rivers and loughs – with grid references, historical details, travel, permit and accommodation information.
Chapters include the history of Irish sea-trout fishing, tackle, angling techniques and fly-patterns, while a separate section is devoted to the biology of the species.
Nomads of the Tides explores fishing for sea-trout in estuaries – an area scarcely touched on to date. The book is illustrated with superb photographs, unprecedented in scope and unrepeatable as a set of angling adventures.
Exploring the truth that the species is genetically identical to brown trout, the authors conclude that sea-trout are essentially marine creatures that use freshwater in which to spawn – truly nomads of the tides.
The book consists of 300 pages and contains 200 original photographs, as well as a 48-page, full-colour section for fly patterns.
Monday, 30th December 2013 at 1200, noon
ONLY 36 HOURS TO GO BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE 2014 SALMON SEASON ON THE DROWES AND THE LIFFEY
To follow all of the action live on the Drowes and for updates on the Drowes and Liffey, remember to visit the Farson Digital Webcams!
http://www.farsondigitalwatercams.com/live-webcams/ireland/Drowes/Kinlough/
and
http://www.farsondigitalwatercams.com/live-webcams/ireland/Liffey/Dublin/
Thursday, 18th December 2013 at 0950
STOCKING
Do you need more salmon in your river??
Is stocking the answer???
See and hear what the experts and the practitioners had to say a few weeks ago at the IBIS / AST Conference in Glasgow!
http://ibis-eu-know.weebly.com/ibis-ast-nov-2013-videos-ppts.html
Saturday, 7th December 2013 at 1955
The two new books are now PUBLISHED!
Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea-Trout – with Chris McCully & James Sadler
Published: 4th December 2013. Order Nomads now, online from:
Medlar Press: http://www.medlarpress.com/8166-Fishing-Books-Nomads-of-the-Tides_by_McCully–Whelan.html
Price: £35
_____________________________________
Celebrating Irish Salmon
Out a few weeks and already some great reviews. Sales are very encouraging. Available from all good book shops – €20
Artisan House Editions: http://www.artisanhouse.ie/collection/celebrating-irish-salmon.html
Sunday, 27th October 2013 at 1700
Books and Articles – two new books will be published in November
*Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea-Trout:Medlar Press – http://www.medlarpress.com/8166-Fishing-Books-Nomads-of-the-Tides_by_McCully–Whelan.html – with Chris McCully
*Celebrating Irish Salmon: Artisan House Editions. (due for Publication November 2013) – with Máirín Uí Chomáin. A book of salmon recipes: –
http://www.artisanhouse.ie/collection/celebrating-irish-salmon.html
Readings and book signings:
22.2.14 Maypole Hollywood, Co Down: https://www.facebook.com/events/649634465047188/?source=1
Further details of book signings will follow shortly
______________________
Fly Fishing & Fly Tying Magazine (http://www.flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk/)
My latest article was published in the October issue: Angling Carries Weight – a review of the IFI angling survey showing that angling is worth €0.75b!
__________________________
AST Updates – http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/
- · For details of my forthcoming public talk at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on the 26th November see:
http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/events/event.php?id=334
- · I’ll also be attending the up and coming SmartOceans Forum in Belfast:
http://smartocean.org/SmartOceanForum.aspx
- · Don’t forget our major AST / IBIS Stocking Conference: Boosting salmon numbers: is stocking the answer or the problem? 27-28 November 2013 at the Marriott Hotel, Glasgow:
http://www.loughs-agency.org/ibis/ibis-events/salmon-stocking-conference/
- · For the most recent update on the AST / IBIS Ocean Tracking Workshop – Newry, 12th and 13th September, see:
http://www.loughs-agency.org/ibis/ibis-events/ocean-tracking-kt-workshop/
Monday, 19th August 2013 at 16.35
Fly Fishing & Fly Tying Magazine (http://www.flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk/)
Chile’s Great Escape – see my latest article on page 18 of the September Edition. Read about how aquaculture in Chile is supporting many of its prime sport fisheries!
___________________________________________________
NEW UCD COURSE FOR 2013
Ireland’s Rivers and Lakes
Revealed!
AUTUMN AE-HN179
Ken Whelan
The island of Ireland possesses an aquatic heritage which is unique in Europe. Packed into a land area of just 84,000 km2 is a vast array of loughs, rivers and streams. Participants will learn how our rivers and lakes were forged from a mixture of fire and ice; how aquatic life first appeared and how by genetic selection and diversification life thrived in these systems. It will describe our water resources as a source of energy and as pathways for transportation. Strategies will be discussed to ensure the sustainability of our unquenchable thirst for greater and greater volumes of this unique and fast disappearing native treasure.
BELFIELD
7 Tuesdays 7.30pm-9.30pm
Sept 24, Oct 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov 5
3 Saturdays 11.00am-1.00pm
Oct 5, 19, Nov 2
Fee €190
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Brochure%20PDF%202013.14.pdf
Contact Details
UCD Adult Education Centre, Library Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4
Tel: (01) 716-7123
Email: adult.education@ucd.ie
Opening Hours:Monday to Friday: 9.30am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm
________________________________________________________________________________
Donegal Treble Hook Tournament
https://www.facebook.com/DonegalTrebleHook
Book now !!
September 22 to 27
33 teams of 3 in a species fishing contest covering –
- Game angling in the Erne Estuary Ballyshannon
- Beach casting at Rossnowlagh, Charter boat fishing out of Killybegs
- Coarse angling at Assaroe lake
Prize fund €30k!!
Friday, 26th July 2013 at 2230
AST – http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/
The last few months have been exceptionally busy at AST. Arrangements for the planned stocking conference are now in place and we are delighted with the line-up of speakers who have agreed to participate. This will be a unique event where equal prominence will be given to stocking for conservation purposes and stocking to sustain or enhance rod fisheries. Please be sure to book early as places are limited .(http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/hot-topics/stocking-conference-27-28-november-in-glasgow.html).
Ocean tracking is quickly coming to the fore as a key research tool. This approach may well hold the key to answering many seemingly intractable questions regarding where and why our salmon are dying at sea. AST, with our partners in IBIS, are planning a workshop on tracking for early September. Fred Whoriskey who heads up the Canadian Ocean Tracking Network (http://oceantrackingnetwork.org/) will attend, as will Richard Lavelle from the technology firm Vemco (http://vemco.com/). Attendance is by invitation only but a full report of the meeting will be available on both the IBIS and AST websites.
Chester Weir
Recently my colleague Alan Sullivan and I have been compiling a scoping study for Chester and Cheshire West Borough Council on the potential environmental impacts arising from the planned replacement of an old hydro unit, adjacent to Chester Weir, with Archimedes Screw turbines. This is a unique project, as the development is planned for a weir which hosts a key trapping facility, which is fundamental to the Dee as a salmon index catchment.
DATA – Donegal Angling Tourism Alliance
Earlier this year a unique initiative was launched by the Community and Enterprise Division of Donegal County Council. The Donegal Marine and Water Leisure Programme will promote angling in Donegal by means of an interactive new website. Anglers wishing to book angling holidays in Donegal will have access to a wide range of information, directly from the site. A new collective marketing group has been formed by charter skippers, game clubs, private fisheries and Inland Fisheries Ireland to promote a single brand, through a single website. The group, headed up by my colleague Kevin O’Connor, is known as the Donegal Angling Tourism Alliance or DATA. The website will be managed by a company named Donegal Angling Holidays Ltd. DATA has teamed up with Fáilte Ireland to select 15 suitable accommodation providers for anglers and information on 15 game waters, 13 charter boats and 130 free shore fishing sites will be available as free downloadable maps from website. The new site (www.donegalanglingholidays.com) will be live from early August and will offer fishing and recommended accommodation in Aug/Sep 2013 and during the whole of 2014. To promote the new company and focus anglers on the wealth of top class angling available in Donegal, Donegal Angling Holidays are holding a major angling festival on September 22nd to 27th. The angling festival boasts a prize fund of over €30k and involves teams of three, who must fish for sea, game and coarse fish species over three days!. The Treble Hook Festival (https://www.facebook.com/DonegalTrebleHook ) is being organised by my good friend Normal Dunlop. Formally an Angling Officer with the Central Fisheries Board, Norman is justifiably recognised as the doyen of sea angling in Ireland. I recently attended the CLA Game Fair to promote the initiative ( see image below) and I was most impressed with the number of anglers interested in visiting this beautiful but little known angling destination…the Cinderella of Irish angling venues.
Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea-Trout
Chris McCully and Ken Whelan – with images by James Sadler
http://www.medlarpress.com/8166-Fishing-Books-Nomads-of-the-Tides_by_McCully–Whelan.html
During the making of Nomads of the Tides the authors fished over fifty Irish sea-trout waters – estuaries, rivers and loughs. Each water is described – with grid references, historical details, travel, permit and accommodation information. Other chapters include the history of Irish sea-trout fishing, tackle, angling techniques and lures and fly-patterns, while a separate section is devoted to the biology of the sea-trout. Nomads of the Tides fully covers fishing for sea-trout in estuaries – an area which has been scarcely touched to date. Exploring the truth that sea-trout are genetically identical to brown trout, the authors conclude that sea-trout are essentially marine creatures that use freshwater in which to spawn – they are true ‘nomads of the tides’. The book contains notable references and an appendix with the regional and historical names of sea-trout – over seventy of them. Accompanying the book will be a website which gives further information about Irish sea-trout waters and fishing. Lavishly photographed, unprecedented in scope and possibly unrepeatable as a set of angling adventures, Nomads of the Tides belongs on every angler’s bookshelf.
Expected publication date is early November 2013 – book your copy now on the Medlar Press website.
Celebrating Irish Salmon – http://www.artisanhouse.ie/about_us.html
As previously announced I’ve been commissioned by Artisan House editions, Letterfrack, Connemara to work with them on an exciting new cookery book – Celebrating Irish Salmon. The book will contain a wide range of traditional and novel salmon recipes. The principal author of the book, Máirín UíChomáin, has close family links with wild salmon and sea trout since her father was a ghillie on the Cashla system in Connemara and may well have ghillied for the most famous of Irish sea trout anglers , T C Kingsmill Moore. Expected publication date is early November 2013.
Atlantic Salmon Lost at Sea – http://www.atlanticsalmonlostatsea.net/
Sadly, in January of this year, we lost my close friend and mentor Éamon de Buitleár. However, with producer Deirdre Brennan, I’m continuing to work on his final film, which we hope to launch in early 2014. We are actively seeking sponsorship for the remaining segments of this magnificent tribute to Éamon and if you think you can help please do get in touch!!
AAPGAI and Irish International Fly Fair – http://www.aapgai.co.uk/
& http://www.irishinternationalflyfair.com/
The Irish international Fly Fair, held in Killyleagh, Co Down each year, is fast becoming one of the major game angling events in Ireland. This years’ festival was no exception and we were delighted to welcome an ever expanding number of fly tyers, casters and expert anglers to the event. This year was a very special one for me, as over the weekend I took my AAPGAI trout angling assessment and I’m delighted to report that I passed!! I’m now an Associate Member of AAPGAI, which opens the door for me to hopefully qualify as an Advanced Instructor in the near future. Thanks to Gary Bell for his patience and support in mentoring me through the process and to Glyn Freeman for some very helpful tips and on the day of the assessment!
Tuesday, 30th April 2013, at 1415
Killyleagh Game Fair – Irish International Fly Fair, Killyleagh Co Down
If you are free, do come along – the kids are particulrly well looked after!!
My talk this year is “Trout in Strange Places”. Hear at first hand how and where our trout have turned up all over the globe – the South Atlantic, the Pacific, the Adriatic and even the Indian Ocean!! In includes spectacular images of my recent visit to Chile.
For full details, click on the link below:
Killyleagh Fly Fair A5 Flyer 2013
Saturday, 6th April 2013, at 1055
Below is a summary of my recent activities and details of new projects which kenwhelan.info will undertake this year.
Visit to Chile – February / March 2013
Our project – An economic and environmental study of the main factors influencing the success of a planned recreational fishery for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Rio Palena (Region X– Northern Patagonia, Chile) – is now nearing completion. I recently spent a fascinating three weeks in Chile working in the field with the team from theInstituto de Acuicultura, Universidad Austral de Chile. Arising from my visit I plan to write a series of articles describing the current status of the aquaculture industry and its relationship with the sport fishery industry in Chile. I also plan two further articles, one on the sport fishing in the lowland areas, close to Puerto Varas and a second on fishing the Rio Palena and its tributaries, high in the Andes, close to the Argentinian border. I really must thank my hosts for a wonderful and unique experience. Rarely have I encountered such hospitality and warmth. I look forward to returning soon.
Watch my website for extracts from our final report later in the summer
Loire Allier Meeting – DREAL, Clermont Ferrand, France
In late March I chaired a meeting of the Loire Basin Salmon Advisory Committee in Clermont Ferrand, France. The salmon populations in the Loire Allier are amongst the most ancient in Europe and require a determined effort to protect and restore them if they are to survive the ravages of habitat degradation and climate change. This is the sixth such meeting and it is encouraging to see an upturn in the salmon returns to this iconic river. The work being undertaken by the various teams from Logrami, Onema and Conservatoire National du Saumon Sauvage is most impressive and I feel we have made real progress in recent years in quantifying the current status of the resource and in setting realistic targets for future restoration of the salmon stock.
Ireland’s Sport Fish
Following my very successful “Freshwater Detective” course, which was run by the UCD Adult Education Centre in autumn of last year, we are now planning a second course on Ireland’s Sport Fish. I’m sure this course will be of great interest to anglers, fishery managers and naturalists. Registration for the course will open shortly but in the meantime those interested can obtain information from: adult.education@ucd.ie or on 01 7167123.
UCD Term 3
Ken Whelan
Ireland enjoys a great abundance of sport fish ranging from the marauding Porbeagle shark to the ubiquitous and much loved brown trout. This course will describe in detail the natural history of these unique species and their importance as a much sought after recreational resource and biological indicators of our ever changing aquatic environment. The lecture series will chart the changes in our sport fish fauna resulting from climate change and describe the biology of new species such as gilt head bream, golden grey mullet and trigger fish. Students will become familiar with a wide range of freshwater and marine species and learn of current and future management challenges. The series will be of interest to all of those with an interest in the natural history, management and continuing welfare of Ireland’s unique sport fish fauna. The course will comprise six illustrated talks with ample time for interactive discussion on the topics covered.
Belfield
| 6 Mondays | April 15, 22, 29, May 13, 20, 27No class bank holiday Monday May 6 | 7.30pm – 9.30pm |
Cheshire West and Chester Council – River Dee Hydroelectric Proposal
My colleague Alan Sullivan and I have been commissioned by Cheshire West and Chester Council to carry out a Phase I Scoping Study to assess the environmental impact of a proposed Hydro Electric Development at Chester Weir on the River Dee. This work will take approximately a month to complete and should ensure that the suite of environmental studies planned under Phase II of the proposed environmental impact programme provides all of the relevant information on the scale of the environmental assessments required to address the key impacts arising from the proposed project.
Celebrating Irish Salmon – http://www.artisanhouse.ie/about_us.html
kenwhelan.info has been commissioned by Artisan House editions, Letterfrack, Connemara to work with them on an exciting new cookery book – Celebrating Irish Salmon. The book will contain a wide range of traditional and novel salmon recipes. The principal author of the book, Máirín UíChomáin, has close family links with wild salmon and sea trout since her father was a ghillie on the Cashla system in Connemara and may well have ghillied for the doyen of Irish sea trout anglers, T C Kingsmill Moore.
Royal Society Edinburgh – http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/index.php
I’m very pleased and indeed very honoured to confirm that I’ve been requested by the Royal Society in Edinburgh to give a public lecture on the lives of salmon at sea in late November. Full details will follow a little later.
Pike, Lough Key – Boyle anglers
Last week end I fished the Boyle and District Anglers Pike angling competition on Lough Key. Despite arctic conditions and water temperatures which at times dipped below 2°C, my boat partner Marc O’ Regan did very well, catching a pike of 20 lbs. 6 oz., which won him 2nd place overall in the competition, and also this wonderful Lough Key brown trout, which we estimated to be in the region of seven pounds. Marc and I landed a total of five pike and two trout over the two days.
Fly Fishing and Fly Tying – http://www.flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk/
The March edition of Fly Fishing & Fly tying contained an article of mine entitled Saving our Salmon at Sea which looks at the topical issue of potential impacts on salmon post-smolts from pelagic fisheries in the north-east Atlantic. The article was very well received and has generated quite a series of correspondence in the sister Trout & Salmon magazine.
Monday, 18th February 2012 at 11.00
Nomads of the Tides: Fishing for Irish Sea-Trout
Chris McCully and Ken Whelan – with images by James Sadler
http://www.medlarpress.com/8166-Fishing-Books-Nomads-of-the-Tides_by_McCully–Whelan.html
During the making of Nomads of the Tides the authors fished over fifty Irish sea-trout waters – estuaries, rivers and loughs. Each water is described – with grid references, historical details, travel, permit and accommodation information. Other chapters include the history of Irish sea-trout fishing, tackle, angling techniques and lures and fly-patterns, while a separate section is devoted to the biology of the sea-trout. Nomads of the Tides fully covers fishing for sea-trout in estuaries – an area which has been scarcely touched to date. Exploring the truth that sea-trout are genetically identical to brown trout, the authors conclude that sea-trout are essentially marine creatures that use freshwater in which to spawn – they are true ‘nomads of the tides’. The book contains notable references and an appendix with the regional and historical names of sea-trout – over seventy of them. Accompanying the book will be a website which gives further information about Irish sea-trout waters and fishing. Lavishly photographed, unprecedented in scope and possibly unrepeatable as a set of angling adventures, Nomads of the Tides belongs on every angler’s bookshelf.
Press Release – NOMADS Press Release_Nomad 11.2.13
Monday, 31st December 2012 at 10.20
Sorry for the delay in getting these updates to you but the last few months have proven to be exceptionally busy for kenwhelan.info. With the assistance of our webmaster, Colin Byford of Byford Technology Ltd, we will be refreshing the kenwhelan.info site over the coming weeks. If for any reason the site is off line for short periods while we revamp the existing formats, please bear with us.
For more detailed information on the projects mentioned below please turn to my current projects page: http://www.www.kenwhelan.info/current-projects/
Nomads of the Tides – fresh and saltwater fishing for Irish sea trout. http://nomadsofthetides.blogspot.ie/
As may be seen from our website (above), we finally got there!! Nomads has been delivered to Jon and Rosie at Medlar Press (http://www.medlarpress.com/). Chris, James and I are actively involved in designing a new and exciting website, which wil introduce the book to our readers. Chris and I will launch the website at the Dublin Angling Show in mid- February – http://maramedia.ie/whats-on. The new website will contain all sorts of goodies: examples of Chris’s outstanding lyrical style of writing; additions to the core gazetteer; chapters on sea trout names; flies for the surf and a list of our favourite Chinese restaurants & fish and chip shops!!
China – Shantou area
My visit to the Shantou area proved very successful. A full report on my trip is available below. My thanks are due to my hosts at Shantou University who could not have been more hospitable and accommodating. I look forward eagerly to joint future initiatives with the team at the Marine Biology Institute.
Visit to Shantou University Oct Nov 2012 – summary
Webcams – http://www.farsondigitalwatercams.com/
There are now 12 Irish river cameras live and more to come in spring!! For opening day of the 2013 salmon fishing season, 1st January, be sure to follow the Drowse cam on : http://www.farsondigitalwatercams.com/live-webcams/ireland/Drowse/
Atlantic Salmon Trust – http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/
- In October I attended a meeting of the Pelagic Regional Advisory Council to discuss with them the results of the SALSEA Merge programme and the requirement for greater protection of wild salmon on the high seas. As a result of this meeting AST will shortly meet with DG Mare and DG Environment in Brussels to press our case.
- With our colleagues in IBIS we ran a very successful Small Streams Workshop in Carlingford, Co Louth, in November
- Recently we announced a major conference on stocking which will take place in Edinburgh in November 2013. This is also a joint IBIS / AST initiative.
http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/events/stocking-conference.html
Stocking Conference: AST and its partners are organising a major conference on stocking, to be held in November 2013. A full programme, booking form and further details will be published in due course.
Marine and Countryside Guide Programme – http://www.failteireland.ie/Home http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/ and http://www.ittralee.ie/en/
We have completed delivery of the Game and Sea Shore Angling Guide Programmes at the Institute of Technology in Tralee. Once the assessments are completed in January, Fáilte Ireland will carry out a comprehensive review of the two programmes with a view to rolling out these programmes countrywide during 2013. My thanks to all of those involved with the initiative and the excellent crop of students who participated so enthusiastically on these pilot programmes.
The Freshwater Detective – UCD – adult education course http://www.ucd.ie
This is the second year of the Freshwater Detective course and it again proved very popular. It was completed In late November .
A new course is planned for spring: Ireland’s Sport Fish http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Focus%20On%20Courses%20PDF.pdf
Be sure to book early as this course is likely to prove very popular.
Chile – River Palena – http://www.uach.cl & http://turismoaltopalena.cl/fic/
An economic and environmental study of the main factors influencing the success of a planned recreational fishery for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Rio Palena (Region X– Northern Patagonia, Chile)
Planning for this exciting contract is forging ahead. I will be working with colleagues in the Palena River valley from mid- February to mid-March.
Watch my site over the coming months for information, updates and images!
_____________________________________________________________________________
New projects for 2013
We have several new and exciting projects under discussion for the coming year. Watch this site for further information
__________________________________________________________________
Tuesday 9th October 2012 at 1600
ADULT EDUCATION COURSES IN UCD
Welcome to all of those who have joined my Freshwater Dectective course which started last night in UCD.
There are still a few places left on my spring course – Ireland’s Sport Fish. Please register straight away wiith UCD Adult Education – see below – if you are not to be disappointed!!
The Freshwater Detective
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Autumn%202012.13%20PDF.pdf
Ireland’s Sport Fish
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Focus%20On%20Courses%20PDF.pdf
UCD Adult Education Centre, Library Building, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4
ATLANTIC SALMON TRUST
Press release for immediate use 8th October 2012
‘Help us learn more about the life of salmon at sea’ Atlantic Salmon Trust asks pelagic fishermen
Professor Ken Whelan, AST’s Director of Research, has asked the representatives of the EU’s pelagic fleets to work closely with salmon scientists to learn more about the life of salmon (the ‘canary of the North Atlantic’) in the ocean, when he addressed Friday’s (5 Oct) meeting of the Pelagic Regional Advisory Council, held in Amsterdam.
It is now widely recognised that wild salmon face many challenges during the time they spend at sea. Over the past two decades, an increasing proportion of North Atlantic salmon are dying at sea during their oceanic feeding migration – though we don’t yet fully understand why.
The research carried out under the EU-funded SALSEA Merge (Salmon at Sea) programme (which also received funding from AST) showed conclusively that, during the part of their life-cycle spent at sea, Atlantic salmon are pelagic fish, swimming alongside commercially-fished species such as herring, mackerel and blue whiting, and sharing the same ocean environments. They are therefore at risk from the fisheries targeting these species. This is particularly true of the shoals of post-smolts heading for oceanic feeding grounds.
“Given the size of the trawls and purse seines used by the commercial fleets, we believe that there is a real risk that shoals of migrating post-smolt salmon could unwittingly be intercepted by the fishery and significant numbers of young salmon harvested as a by-catch,” said Professor Whelan. “Despite research programmes such as SALSEA, there are still large gaps in our knowledge of exactly where these fish go. Hence the very practical requests I made to the Pelagic RAC in respect of the survey and research work that needs to be urgently undertaken, and to ask for their support.
“Including Atlantic salmon in the on-going routine monitoring of commercial pelagic species should not cost a lot, and would vastly increase our knowledge of exactly which ‘migration corridors’ salmon use,” continued Professor Whelan. “We would then be in a much stronger position to recommend actions to manage and protect those corridors during the relatively short period during which salmon migrate. There was a very keen interest at the meeting in how the salmon, which roams far and wide across the pelagic zone but ultimately returns to its river of origin, is being used by scientists to track the abundance and quality of the available food in the areas which it visits. In essence our wild salmon are self-homing miniature probes which bring back a vast amount of data on the health of the ocean and the availability of common food sources. SALSEA has shown how climate change is impacting on the survival of salmon at sea and clearly it is also affecting the abundance and location of food for species such as herring and mackerel. In addition, SALSEA has refined and developed new genetic fingerprinting technology which, if applied to the commercial pelagic species, could separate out what are now regarded for management purposes as stocks into self-reproducing populations of fish. Such a breakthrough would greatly refine how we manage a wide range of vitally important commercial species and ensure more accurate control and stock rebuilding measures.”
“We have also learned, through genetic analysis, that different regional stocks of salmon use different routes to the feeding grounds, and indeed feed in different areas,” added AST Chief Executive Tony Andrews. “At present, the greatest challenge to salmon conservation is our inability to predict which regional – and river – stocks are finding good food sources at sea. The insights we would get from an on-going programme of routine monitoring of salmon as part of the ‘pelagic family’ would assist greatly in this, to the extent that in the future we’d hope to be able to give fishery managers reasonably accurate predictions of how many fish they could hope to see returning to their river.”
“I was very impressed with the interest shown by the Pelagic RAC chairman Iain MacSween and members of the Executive Committee in the work of the SALSEA team. I was also taken with the generous spirit of cooperation shown by members of the RAC in offering to work closely with us in the future to further our understanding of the pelagic zone and the wide range of fish and other creatures living in this complex, dynamic environment,” concluded Professor Whelan
For further information please contact Tony Andrews on 07748 634658 or Ken Whelan on +353867835900
ends
Notes for editors: The Atlantic Salmon Trust, set up in 1967, promotes conservation of wild salmon and sea trout stocks to levels where they are sustainable, and addresses concerns about declining stocks of these fish. UK based, with Atlantic-wide scope, the AST champions the fish themselves, and does not represent any other interests or body. The AST’s work is focused on:
- facilitating and promoting research into understanding & conservation of wild salmon and sea trout stocks
- using sound, peer-reviewed science to influence governments and public opinion, in furtherance of conservation of these species
The AST has charitable status; it is not a membership body, and its work is financed entirely by donations.
AST’s Ocean Silver Conference, held in London in December 2011, focused on the results of the SALSEA programme, and on implications of those results for salmon fishery managers. You can access the programme of the conference, and read the presentations, at www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/oceansilver.
More information about the Pelagic RAC is available at www.pelagic-rac.org
Other relevant websites and links:
Salmon Summit:
http://www.nasco.int/sas/salmonsummit.htm
Salsea Merge papers:
http://www.nasco.int/sas/salseamerge_documents.htm
Ocean Silver:
http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/oceansilver/
Atlantic salmon at sea: Findings from recent research and their implications for management
http://www.nasco.int/pdf/reports_other/Salmon_at_sea.pdf
Monday, 27th August 2012 at 1720
NEW!!
ADULT EDUCATION COURSES IN UCD
The Freshwater Detective
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Autumn%202012.13%20PDF.pdf
Ireland’s Sport Fish
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Focus%20On%20Courses%20PDF.pdf
UCD will again be running my very popular adult education course The Freshwater Detective over the October / November period.
In addition they have asked me to run a second course in April / May – Ireland’s Sport Fish – an ideal course for anglers or those interested in the natural history of our sport fish species.
Based on last years’ experience these courses may well prove very popular and will fill up quickly. Those interested should contact the UCD Adult Education Centre a.s.a.p. :
UCD Adult Education Centre, Library Building, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4
(0)1 7167123
Saturday, 4th August 2012 at 1650
Sea trout from the tides – Bann Estuary, Roe, Burn Dennett and Crana
See: http://nomadsofthetides.blogspot.ie/
Chris and I enjoyed some excellent fishing over the past week – Many thanks to Leslie Holmes (http://stonefalls.co.uk/ )and the many other anglers who supported our trip:
Wednesday, 18th July 2012 at 1015
Greenland glacier loses large mass of ice
Professor Andreas Muenchow, University of Delaware – The vast, flat expanse stretching into the background is the Petermann Glacier, well over one-third of which has now broken off. It connects the Greenland ice sheet to the Arctic Ocean. By Juliet Eilperin and Jason Samenow, Wednesday, July 18, 3:59 AMThe Washington Post A chunk of ice twice the size of Manhattan has parted from Greenland’s Petermann glacier, a break researchers at the University of Delaware and Canadian Ice Service attributed to warmer ocean temperatures.The separation along Greenland’s northwest coast, which took place Monday, represents the second major calving event for the glacier in the past three years. In August 2010, the Petermann glacier lost an area of roughly 97 square miles, compared with the 46 square miles that just split off this week.
(AP) – These 2010 and 2012 NASA images provided by the University of Delaware show the formation of a crack in northwestern Greenland’s Petermann Glacier. On Monday, an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan tore off one of Greenland’s largest glaciers, indicated at center right.
Andreas Muenchow, an associate professor of physical ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware, said the glacier’s end point is now at “a location where it has not been for at least 150 years.”
“The Greenland ice sheet is changing rapidly before our eyes,” Muenchow said in an interview, adding that while “no individual glacier will be the canary in the coal mine” recent warming has transformed the overall ice sheet.
“The Greenland ice sheet is being reduced not just in size, but in volume,” he said. “The big and broader climate change story is what’s happening all around Greenland.”
Ted Scambos, the lead scientist for the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, said scientists will now be monitoring whether the glacier’s flow rate will accelerate “because of its loss of this chunk of ice at the front of it.”
“It’s going to take awhile to understand how significant a loss this is,” Scambos said.
The Petermann glacier’s flow accelerated between 10 and 20 percent after the 2010 calving event, Muenchow said, adding researchers were still waiting to see if that was a short-term increase or would persist over time.
Polar researcher Jason Box of Ohio State University noted that the 2010 calving was “the largest in the observational record for Greenland.”
He correctly predicted last summer that the piece that just broke off, about half the size, was on the brink.
Sunday, 8th July 2012 at 1400
Recent Talks
Thanks to everybody who was kind enough to attend my recent talks at the Irish International Fly Fair in Killyleagh, Co Down (http://www.irishinternationalflyfair.com/) and on Friday last, 6th July, at the Ocean Wealth Showcase, part of the Galway Volvo festival (http://www.volvooceanracegalway.ie/globalvillage/marinepillar.aspx). Thanks also to the organisers who were kind enough to ask me to speak at these events.
Giant Sea Trout Reported form the River Touques, Normandy
The River Touques recently made ??headlines in local newspapers in Normandy. Indeed the river record was broken on Tuesday, June 5 at 20h when a sea trout of 9.5kg and 90 cm succumbed to the temptation of a rappala presented by local angler Laurent Boulanger . Well known as a great fisherman he combines a strong commitment to his hobby with the protection of rivers and their environment. We are pleased that it was he who took the record fish. No doubt he has taken for analysis some scales the results of which we will follow with interest. Unlike salmon, sea trout may spawn several times and a trout of this size has probably ensured a large family. Efforts on the Touques to open up full access to all upstream tributaries of this river are rewarded by the Normandy Development Plan which year after year is proving more and more important. Fishing tourism is a significant income for the Normandy region. It remains however to monitor the nets that make significant catches in the estuary despite the presence of laws restricitng this practice.
Sylvie Tissier – ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DE DÉFENSE DU SAUMON ATLANTIQUE
Thursday, 28th June 2012 at 1910
New Greeland Salmon Genetics Project
http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/
CSI West Greenland – modern genetic fingerprinting techniques help scientists track salmon stocks along the West Greenland coast
Analysis of historical Atlantic salmon scale data has shown that the proportion of salmon from European rivers which successfully make their way to the rich feeding grounds off West Greenland has dropped by more than 75% in recent decades. The Atlantic Salmon Trust and its partners are now spearheading a project to help solve the mystery of why this is.
Advances in microsatellite DNA profiling now make it possible to identify salmon caught at sea to their natal region and, in some cases, to their river of origin. Building on this work, the new project will use existing genetic databases to carry out a pilot study to determine the region and/or river of origin of a range of contemporary samples from fish scale and tissue collections from Atlantic salmon captured recently in the fishery at West Greenland.
Atlantic salmon were first recorded from Greenland waters in the 1780s but it was the 1960s before a full commercial distant-water fishery for salmon developed. Since 2001 this has been restricted to an internal-use fishery through conservation agreements adopted internationally through the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO). To date we have had no way of assessing which of the weaker populations of salmon are impacted by the remaining subsistence fishery.
Over the past five decades scientists have collected scales and tissue samples from the West Greenland fishery through an international sampling programme. These have been used for a wide range of analyses, including in more recent years, genetic assignment of salmon to their continent of origin. This work has shown quite dramatic changes in the proportions of salmon from North America and Europe appearing in the samples. Originally some 40% of the fish caught along theWest Greenland coast were of European origin but in more recent years this proportion has dropped to less than 10% – but we have no idea why.
Equally puzzling is the fact that almost all of the salmon at West Greenland will return to their native rivers as the large and much sought after, spring or multi sea-winter-salmon. For the first time in 25 years the overall abundance of these salmon has begun to increase in recent seasons, although it is still low in historic terms and many stocks contributing to the fishery are still likely to be below their conservation limits. Forecasts of abundance for 2013 and 2014 are less optimistic.
Thanks to work carried out as part of the recently completed SALSEA Merge programme (http://www.nasco.int/sas/salseamerge_documents.htm) European scientists can now assign, with remarkable accuracy, individual salmon back to their region or river of origin.
A consortium of scientists from Europe and North America has been formed to re-examine scales and tissue samples gathered over recent years from the West Greenland fishery, in order to crack the genetic code. This will make it possible to assign fish back to major European rivers, particularly in the UK and Ireland. It is hoped that this work will lead to much deeper knowledge of the occurrence of individual salmon stocks along the West Greenland coast, particularly the weaker stocks and inform management of the fishery in the future . It should also provide an insight into why, and how, the proportions of North American and European salmon stocks are changing over time.
The initial work will concentrate on European stocks, but a similar database is near completion inNorth America. A full assessment of theWest Greenlandsamples, over the decades, is now a distinct possibility.
“When, as part of SALSEA, we started our intensive sampling programme in West Greenland some years ago, assignment of stocks back to their region of river of origin was only a pipe dream”, said Tim Sheehan, a senior biologist at NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. “It’s hard to believe we are now on the cusp of such an exciting breakthrough. Full credit is due to all of the laboratories and the dozens of individuals who have contributed to the programme over the decades.”
This newWest Greenlandsalmon genetics programme was spearheaded by the Atlantic Salmon Trust which seed funded the programme and coordinated the evolving partnership. Other major players include NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), US Geological Survey, Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute of Northern Ireland, NASCO’s International Atlantic Salmon Research Board (IASRB), Marine Scotland, University College Cork and Queens University Belfast through the Beaufort Marine Research Award and a range of partner laboratories in Europe.
“Having coordinated the work of SALSEA teams throughout Europe to provide dependable genetic markers, it’s really exciting to see these tools being applied to shed light on practical international fisheries management issues,” said Phil McGinnity, Principal Investigator of the Beaufort Fish Populations Genetics team at University College Cork.
“As is the case with all mixed stock fisheries our major concern is with the weaker stocks and how these are impacted by the fisheries. The aim of this new study is to identify regional or individual river stocks, and the extent that they contribute to the fishery, so that their status can be taken into consideration in management terms,” added AST Chief Executive Tony Andrews.
The West Greenland Genetics Programme is funded by the Atlantic Salmon Trust, AFBINI and the IASRB.
For further information contact Professor Ken Whelan, Research Director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust on: +353 867835000
ENDS
Additional weblinks for Editors
Atlantic Salmon Trust : http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org
International Council for the Exploration of the Seas: http://www.ices.dk/reports/ACOM/2012/WGNAS/wgnas_2012.pdf
Recent Atlantic Salmon Trust Press Release regarding the West Greenland Fishery:
NASCO Annual Meeting – Edinburgh, June 2012: http://www.nasco.int/pdf/media/2012_PressRelease.pdf
LATEST: Ocean Wealth Showcase!!
Monday,25th June 2012 at 1050
See latest edition of Inshore Ireland Magazine:
Tuesday 19th June, 2012 at 1502
OCEAN WEALTH SHOWCASE – GALWAY
30th June to 8th July
Come and join me at the Ocean Wealth Showcase in Galway – I’ll be there on the 5th and 6th July 2012
Friday 6th July 2012 – Focus on the Marine Environment, Deep Sea Ecosystems and Climate Change
The oceans cover 70% of the earth’s surface and our very survival depends on them. Over the past 20 years Ireland has taken its place among the international leaders in the field of ocean science and has produced some exciting and revealing research on our marine environment. On the 6th July a number of distinguished and expert speakers will share their work with the public:
- Mapping Ireland’s Seabed – Why & How? Keon Verbruggen, Geological Survey of Ireland
- How Climate Change is bringing about Amazing Changes in our Marine Life – Dr. Ken Whelan, author, international researcher and lecturer with UCD
- Deep Water Coral Reefs: Ireland’s Hidden Treasures – Dr Anthony Grehan, NUIG
- The Challenges of managing and Protecting Ireland’s Water – Micheal O Cinneide, Director of Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Protection Agency.
See below for full programme details:
Ocean Wealth Flyer Low Resolution -2MB
Live Galway Harbour webcam courtesy of our partners at Farson Digital – watch the winning yachts arrive!!
See: http://www.farsondigitalwatercams.com/live-webcams/ireland/Galway-Harbour/Galway-City/
Saturday 2nd June,, 2012 at 10.10
For more details see: http://www.fishinginireland.info/
Irish Angling Update Highlights
• Bream good in Lough Allen, whereas Creenagh Lake and Finn Lough produce bags of tench
• Nice catches of Tench and Hybrids at Correen Ford on the Suck
• Young anglers catch some nice bream on the Royal Canal at Kilcock.
• The Inny boys strike again with bank to bank fish!
• Big pike on Corrib
• 33lb Pike caught near Mountshannon while trolling
• Terrific pike of 1.24 metres for 11 year old Thomas Bigot on Lough Derg
• Fishing slow on Carrowmore and Beltra but Ballisodare remained excellent
• Sunny days make salmon shy on the River Moy
• Liam Ellis takes a fine specimen sea trout for the third year in a row on Lough Currane.
• Salmon run improving on the Suir, new webcam at Clonmel
• Purple patch for bars of silver on Blackwater
• Salmon fishing on the Munster Blackwater, new webcam at Fermoy
• Connemara is in all its splendour but fishing is slow
• Six fine sea trout in the space of two hours on Moy Estuary
• Well done to Jim Hendrick who is shortlisted for the Wexford Business Awards 2012
• Ahoy skipper ! Thats a fine Grey Gurnard you caught !
• Good mixed fishing on west coast
• Destination Wexford, target Pollack.
• Bites were slow around Wicklow except for a few ray who took the bait
• The craic was mighty and the fishing too in Donegal Bay
• Tope day for father and son, simply the best!
• Strule still producing sport in low flows
• Monster Trout on Lough Corrib
• Weather sub tropical on Corrib, but fishing not sub-parr
• Lough Mask Produces Good Sport in BBQ Conditions
• Some great fishing reported on Loughs Conn & Cullin despite difficult conditions
• Brown Trout Update from the Fane, Dee and Glyde
• Trout to 9lb on Lough Sheelin, plenty of mayfly
Saturday 19th May, 2012 at 1215
Minister Coveney confirms that conservation measures for bass will stay in place
see: http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2012/05/10/00018.asp
Irish Angling Updates – 18th May 2012
For more details see: http://www.fishinginireland.info/
• Some Nice Fish for Pawel and Lucasz
• The only thing moving on the Inny was the water, so off to the Correen Forde for the roach
• French anglers enjoy good pike fishing on Lough Corrib
• Pike up to 21 lb. for a Belgium party at Melview Lodge
• Pike to 114cm long taken on a Buster Jerk in perch colour at Boyle
• Cloongee and East Mayo produce the best catches on the Moy
• Winds disrupt weekend fishing on Carrowmore, however, early week fishing was productive
• Navan Anglers record 5 salmon on the Boyne
• Bieber preforms well in Delphi but others hit a bum note
• Salmon and sea trout report from Lough Currane.
• Shads on lead heads were by far the best rig with a fish on every cast for the Carrigaholt charterboat
• Killala Bay update
• A varied catch for the Rosguill in Donegal including half a ling !
• Plenty of action and mixed weather for fishing around Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry
• Wicklow Boat Charters treats the Irish Home Nations Team to an early season animal fishing bonanza
• Emy’s Superb Trout Fishing Attracts Fly Anglers to Emyvale
• Our boys in green ! ITFFA Youth international team and IFI at Lough Owel
• Lough Conn and Cullin update
• Lough Sheelin reinforces its reputation as one of the best trout fishing lakes in Europe
• Mayfly shows on Annalee
• Good Brown Trout Fishing at Navan
Tuesday 15th, May 2012 at 20.45
Cuba – Barracuda, Bonefish and Classic Cars!!
Tuesday 15th, May 2012 at 20.45
Irish Angling Update Highlights
• NCFFI Senior Canals Championship held in unseasonably cold weather
• Bream and tench to 6lb and bags of over a ton reported from Arvagh, Gowna, Inishmuch
• Good coarse fishing reported from Co. Leitrim.
• Big specimen bream reported in big catches recorded in the Upper Shannon area.
• Super coarse fishing catches at two recent small festivals on Inniscarra Lake in Co. Cork.
• Good bream and tench fishing for english visitors at Melview Lodge.
• Information Days Promote Fisheries Awareness Event in Carrickmacross
• Fishing for shad by the light of the silver moon in St Mullins, Carlow
• French anglers enjoy good pike fishing on Lough Corrib
• Pike up to 21 lb. for a Belgium party at Melview Lodge
• Kenny Sloan reports on success for Scottish anglers in the Foxford area
• Salmon Continue to win Battles on the Boyne
• Spring salmon fishing continuing at Galway Fishery
• High water and big tides with fish up to 19lbs reported on the Slaney
• 8lb 15oz fish was a prayer answered for Gode at Delphi
• 14.2lb salmon for Tim Harty on the Blackwater
• Killala Bay update
• Good deep sea fishing reported at Courtmacsherry.
• Tope on a kayak – the freedom and excitement of kayak fishing
• Sunshine and a ‘secret’ location led Kevin to his first Bass in forty years
• Good shore fishing reported from the Beara Peninsula
• Sunny Saturday in Galway Bay and fish all around
• Emy Lake Continues to Fish Well
• Good rainbow trout fishing at the Cashel Fishery.
• Mayfly Hatch Greatly Anticipated on the Boyne
• May fly hatching in numbers on Lough Arrow
• Sheelin trout to 7lb on buzzer, mayfly warming up
• Lough Mask Continues to Produce Excellent Sport
• Good mayfly fishing on Lough Corrib
• The Lagan continues to boil with plenty of fish recorded
• Great hatches of Iron Blue Duns on the Suir but North east winds making casting difficult
For more details see:
http://www.fishinginireland.info/Sunday 22nd, April 2012 at 1210
see: http://fishinginireland.info/news/ for Irish Angling Update Highlights
• Arvagh Breffni King of Clubs- great value travel deals for UK anglers
• Some good coarse fishing reported by English anglers at Portumna
• The I.F.I. Ballybay Angling 2 Day Open Coarse Fishing Festival
• Weekend’s cold weather takes toll on the coarse angling at Lanesborough
• Outsmart your Pike and increase your catch
• Visiting French anglers using float tubes land 800 Leitrim pike
• Dublin angler George lands a fine 25lb pike in Roscommon
• Kylemore Abbey Fishery reports its first salmon of the season
• 11lb 3oz salmon caught on Sunray Shadow off Finlough in difficult conditions
• Fishing prospects good for the coming weeks at Galway Weir
• Bars of silver give a ‘Feale’ of thing to come
• East Mayo anglers enjoy great sport on the River Moy
• Salmon to 13lbs on Carrowmore Lake
• Nine more for the Delphi even though conditions were difficult
• River Drowes remains at a very low level but a dozen salmon still caught
• The Biggest Fish of the Season so far on April 14 on the Munster Blackwater
• Bass to almost 10lb and good cod on Cork Harbour reefs
• Smash and grab skate off Antrim
• Impressive display at the Boat Master Angler competition in Galway
• Wrasse fishing at it’s best off Irish rocky shoreline
• 2lb – 7lb Bass in great condition off Wexford
• In spite of very cold weather bass could still be caught on fly and lure in Inny estuary
• Wetflies and buzzer patterns kept activity high and rods bent at Lough Corrib
• 13.5lb ferox trout for junior angler Cian at Lough Mask
• Mayfly begin to make an appearance on Lough Arrow
• Mayfly makes it appearance on Lough Derg
• Trout look up to the Mayfly for Derravaragh Anglers
• Trout fishing testing as temperatures tumble on Sheelin
• Good Catches on Lough Lene in Collinstown
• Olives and Hawthorns on the Boyne at Navan
Friday 13th, April 2012 at 0830
see: http://fishinginireland.info/news/ for Irish Angling Update Highlights
• Superb catches of Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Perch and Hybrids reported from the Upper Shannon area.
• Roach and Tench in Lanesborough over Easter
• Spawning roach running up the river at Mallady’s on the River Inny
• Conditions Improve for Carrickmacross Carp Anglers
• Big 1.06 Metre pike for French angler fishing in the east Clare area.
• Pike to 100cm in the Foxford area for visiting twelve year old French angler
• Carrowmore Lake continues to produce good sport.
• With the rain comes the fish on Easter Sunday at Delphi
• 16 lb. salmon caught trolling on Lough Melvin
• Great improvement in salmon and sea trout fishing on Lough Currane
• April showers but no trout for New Jersey Guy on the Deel
• Anglers report numerous trout of small size on Lough Conn.
• Ballin Lough, Westport, opens once again to anglers.
• Warren Campell wins the second trout competition in a row on the River Lagan
• Dryfly nails a big trout on the River Bann!
• Lough Sheelin trout angling report
• Huge hatches of buzzers should attract trout on Lough Melvin
• A busy week for shore anglers fishing in Waterville
• Eight varieties for the Leah in Killala Bay on a blustery day.
• Fresh peeler crab catches the cod off Antrim
• Good deep sea angling at Courtmacsherry
Friday 6th, April 2012 at 1515
Irish Angling Update Highlights
http://fishinginireland.info/news/
• Big bream early spawning roach at Lanesborough
• Philip Jackson in Pole Position at Lough Muckno Match
• Fish bite when baits are right at the hot water section at Lanesborough in Co. Longford.
• Good bream fishing reported from the River Barrow below Graignamanagh.
• Good pike fishing reported from Lough Ree
• Lithuanian Pike Angling Club Go and Catch competition on Lough Sillan
• €20,000 cash prize fund at the Lough Ree International Pike Festival 2012
• Near specimen ling and good deep fishing reported from Courtmacsherry.
• Cod to 10lb on Shannon estuary charter boat trip
• Cod appear in good numbers during the first outing of the season on Killala Bay
• Pollack, cod and coalies off Valentia, and many big basking shark spotted too
• Big bull huss off the Co. Antrim coast
• Bass en masse around Kinsale!
• Latest bass fishing report from Cahersiveen
• Trout report for Lough Ennell and Owel in the midlands.
• Lough Conn continues to produce sport despite weather conditions
• Low flows on Lagan, but quality trout for those in the know!
• Over twenty salmon caught for the week on Carrowmore
• Success on Lough Beltra opening day
• Twelve salmon on Ballisodare opening day
• Mid and upper Moy Fisheries produce salmon
• Click here to see all the highlights and read the Irish Angling Update
Friday 6th, April 2012 at 1300
Irish guide winkles out a 30lb Sea Trout !!
Well known Irish angling guide Matthew Solon is gaining quite a reputation for finding large sea trout on the Rio Grande in Argentina. Fishing out of Kau-Ta-Pen Lodge Matthew is seen here with his latest monster – a fish of close to 30lb, taken on fly by one of Matthew’s clients earlier this week.
http://www.kautapen.com/kautapen/english/home.htm
_______________________________________
Tuesday 4th, April 2012 at 11.20
Royal Irish Academy – Tuesday 24th April 2012 @ 1800
Alien world: New discoveries of exotic lifeforms & volcanic metal chimneys in the deep ocean
Andy Wheeler led a groundbreaking Irish-led marine research mission aboard the national research vessel RV Celtic Explorer investigating life at 3,000 metres below the surface of the sea on the ‘45o North MAR hydrothermal vent field’ using the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Holland 1. These vents, which spew mineral rich seawater heated to boiling point by volcanic material in the earth’s crust below, are home to a rich variety of marine life that thrives in complete darkness on bacteria fed by chemicals.
Admission is free but booking is required – see:
https://www.ria.ie/Events/Events-Listing/Marine-Institute-RIA-Lecture.aspx
Sunday 1st, April 2012 at 1200
SSACN welcomes protection for a range of shark species in Scotland
“Tope join common skate and Porbeagle in having the highest levels of protection in Scottish waters.
In a previous post we reported that the Scottish Government was looking to increase the protection of 26 species of Scottish sharks.
The necessaryStatutory Instrument (SI) has now been created and comes into force today. It means vulnerable species of sharks, skates and rays in Scottish waters will have protection over and above that under EU legislation; hopefully this will encourage the EU to step up to the mark and extend similar protection for them in all European waters.
In a press release, Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said :
“With a landing ban across both commercial and recreational fisheries, we can help support stock recovery for vulnerable shark, skate and ray species. This legislation builds on Scotland’s leading protection measures for sharks – including our proactive decision in 2009 to strengthen the ban on barbaric shark finning.”
Analysis of the Scottish Shark Tagging Prorgramme (SSTP) data has shown that sea angling has minimal impact on stocks – the importance of that and the contributions of all the volunteers was recognised by Mr Lochhead :
“Recreational anglers will still be permitted to fish using the ‘catch and release’ method, while the tagging programme undertaken by anglers can continue. This important initiative is providing invaluable data about sharks in Scottish waters and will help inform policies about how best we can protect these stocks in the future”
Sea anglers were not the cause of stock depletion and are the ones actually doing the research so it seems only fair that they should be allowed to continue to enjoy their sport.
Sea angling attracts over 110,000 participants and contributes around £150 million/yr to the Scottish economy; other management solutions could have had very serious implications for anglers and all those businesses and coastal economies reliant on it.
There is still a lot more to be learnt about the stock dynamics and migratory patterns of Scotland’s inshore sharks; we will continue to gather information through the SSTP and lobby for inclusion in fisheries management to help ensure the future of sea angling in Scotland.
For more details see: http://www.ssacn.org/
Friday 30th, March 2012 at 1445
Irish Angling Update Highlights
- Spring has sprung in Galway and water levels are perfect
- Salmon running the Lee, average size 10lb
- A great week on Carrowmore Lake with ten salmon caught and fish up to 13lbs landed
- Only two salmon reported from the Moy for the week as water levels continue to drop
- Start of Summertime at Drowes Salmon Fishery
- River Boyne Produces 1st Salmon
- Bass and sea trout on lures from the Wexford coast
- Workshop – Intro to lure fishing for bass and other species
- East Cork bass in the surf on a sunny Sunday afternoon
- Great fishing for light line anglers in Cork Harbour
- Cod the father, cod the son and cod the holy ghost.
- Plenty of Duckfly on Corrib, Olives hatching, Mayfly too
- Lots of fly hatching on Mask and well worth a visit
- Lough Conn produces good results for some anglers
- Warm weather brings the midge on Bann and Cusher.
- 11kg of roach on the Boyle River on a pleasant afternoon
- Tench and roach from the Royal Canal
- Pre-baited Swims Pay off for Vinnie at Bailieboro
- Some good pike fishing on Upper Lough Erne with fish to 28lb landed
- ACI fly casting event in aid of Autism Ireland at Kilsheelin this weekend
For more details see:
Friday 23rd, March 2012 at 0900
Irish Angling Update Highlights
- Great water conditions at Delphi but fish didn’t co-operate!
- Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water continues to produce catches
- Springer taken on St Patricks Day at Ballyduff but Blackwater still quiet
- 13.5lb salmon caught on the troll at Currane
- Mackerel in and fishing good in Donegal Bay
- Specimen 222lbs skate at Rathlin island
- Lough Mask Still Fishing Well
- Good hatches on Lough Corrib
- Better conditions result in greater catches on Lough Conn
- Frost back but olives still hatching on Bann and Cusher.
For more details see:
Sunday 18th, March 2012 at 0930
Meanwhile….. in neighbouring Chile, Joze Ocvirk (http://www.pasat.si/ ) enjoyed excellent fishing on the upper Rio Grande for resident browns and some large sea trout:
Friday 16th , March 2012 at 1130
Protection for Salmonid Habitat under Threat in Canada
Friday 16th, March 2012 at 0900
WRBD Galway Angling Report 14 March 2012
Salmon
Galway Weir
The first salmon of the 2012 season has finally been landed in Galway. After 5 weeks of very high water, the OPW finally closed a number of gates on Friday the 9th, lowering the river level to a nice fishable level, with 4 sluice gates open. Local angler Sean O’Toole took full advantage, catching a nice silver fish to kickstart the season here. The fish was small for a springer, at 5.5lbs, but beautifully proportioned and gave a good account of itself. A couple of sea lice showed how fresh it was, probably just off the tide. Sean is a well-known supplier of shrimp to anglers in Galway, and used one of his own shrimps to tempt the fish.
Another fish was spotted in the top pool just 5 minutes after Sean landed his first fish, and with the water level remaining at 4 gates open, conditions are perfect for spring fishing. Weather conditions this week are also perfect, and hopefully we will have more Galway salmon to report soon.
Delphi
After a fishless February,Delphi really came to life last week, and has had a cracking week since, with 12 salmon landed in 7 days. The first fish of the season was taken on Wednesday the 7th by Alan Dunlop – a fish of 9lbs from the Goat Pool, which was sportingly returned. John Mills then had and returned one from the Waterfall of 7lbs. Both fish were taken on a Willie Gunn Waddington fly. Alan then caught a second fish of 8lbs 1oz at 11.20am in the Whin Pool. So after 5 weeks without a fish, 3 in one day got the season going properly!
This was followed on the very next day by a cracking fish of 12lbs 12oz taken by Michael McLaughlin off Finlough on a Willie Gunn in the stream. On Friday Liam Dunne took a fine fish off Finlough in the stream that weighed in at just over 10lbs. It also took a Willie Gunn. His fishing partner Paul Smyth had lost one on the river in the morning. On Saturday Brian O’Donohue who started on the river in the morning landed 2 fish from the Whin pool in 30 minutes, the first weighed in at 6lbs 5oz and the second was approximately 10lbs. Both fish were surprisingly taken on a Willie Gunn!! Laurence Lock managed to hook and land a fish within 10 minutes of starting in the stream on Finlough. The fish weighed in at 8lbs 2oz and was taken on a Mediator. Laurence also had the first fish off Doolough of approx. 7lbs, that was taken on a Blair Spoon in Weedy Bay.
Later on in the week, Keith Pilkington had a 9lbs 8oz fish off the Rock Pool. The fish was taken on a Green and Black tube at 9.20am. It was netted by Keith’s long time fishing partner Peter Morrison who, according to Keith, attempted to knock the fish off a couple of times but failed to do so and landed the fish safely!
Laurence Lock landed another, a beautiful 12lbs 9oz fish. It was taken in the Rock Pool with the river at 20. The fly was once again a Mediator. Laurence has now landed 3 fish in 4 days which is pretty impressive at this stage of the season. Stewart Woodhead landed a 10lbs 8oz fish from the Rock Pool again, 10 minutes after he started to fish on a Dundee United fly.
It looks like Delphi is getting a good run of spring salmon at the moment, and would be well worth a throw. To book fishing or accommodation, contact Delhpi Lodge at 095 42222, or check www.delphilodge.ie
Trout
Lough Mask Still Fishing Well
Ronan Cusack reports that Mask was a bit quieter this week, with not as many boats to be seen out.
Water levels continue to drop under the dry mild conditions and good hatches of duckfly are beginning to appear. Local angler Conor O’Mahony and boat partner Mick Byrne fished on Saturday and they had 4 fish for their day (best fish 2lbs). Mick fished alone again on Sunday and he had a further 2 fish totalling 3lbs. Liam Conroy, Tourmakeady, reported having 5 good keepers coupled with several undersize fish on Sunday (best fish 1.75lbs, all returned). Liam also mentioned meeting 3 visiting anglers on the pier in Tourmakeady when he returned to shore and they had 11 trout between them.
Sean Maloney, Ballinrobe, fished on Wednesday last and he had 5 fish for his day (best fish 1.75lbs). Sean fished again on Sunday with angling partner Joe Fitzharris and they had a further 2 fish (best fish 2lbs). Joe reported large hatches of small sedge all along the Inishowen shore with plenty of fish rising in the calm water. Ronan Cusack fished on Sunday last and he had 5 fish (best fish 3lbs, all returned). Kevin Beattie, Ballinrobe, also spent the day on Mask on Sunday and he had 5 fish for his day (best fish 2lbs).
Although fewer anglers were out, fishing was very good, with anglers averaging 2-3 trout per day, not to mention undersize fish, excellent fishing for this time of year. With the duckfly hatch increasing, the next week should see more good sport on Mask.
Ronan also guides on Mask and can be contacted at cusackronan@gmail.com or on 087 2869487.
Lough Corrib
Fisheries staff are still busy conducting a fish stock survey, so I haven’t had any reports in this week from around the lake, however I am reliably informed that the duckfly hatch is in full swing in a number of areas, and trout are switched on to them already and are feeding hard. The next week should see good fishing and I hope to have some good reports for the next report, especially with the bank holiday weekend this week.
Angling guides omi Kurman and Jack Gorny have been enjoying some great fishing with their clients over the last week, with some great trout landed. The lads have been trying out some new Hybrida lures, and spinning as well as trolling, landing quite a few smaller trout as well as the bigger ferox. On Sunday 2 anglers in one boat had 13 takes and landed 6 fish using the Hybrida lures, while last week Des Canning, who booked a day with the lads along with his brother Michael. Des landed the fish of a lifetime, a magnificent ferox trout that measured 88cm and weighed 18lbs 3oz.
To book a day with lads from the Corrib Predator Team, contact Tomi on 085 731 85 41 or check www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001817618251, or call Jack on 085 774 15 78 or visit his website at www.fishingireland.pl
Thursday 15th, March 2012 at 1645
Irish Angling Update Highlights
- Delphi fishing well with 12 salmon in 7 days
- More spring salmon from the River Moy
- First Salmon in Galway
- Pollack was up to 11lbs and the Ling up to 14lbs at Courtmacsherry
- Wild silver on the swing in the sea
- Spring Cod for Cobh anglers.
- NCFFI Irish Team Qualifiers 2012
- A tough day but plenty of fish at Concora Wood
- Angling trio take a quintet of doubles in the Midlands
- Big pike from Upper Shannon for Kevin Lyons and guests
- Joe McDermott wins Phil Fitzpatrick Memorial Grand Pike Competition
- Learner anglers raise €540 for Irish Cancer Society at Annamoe
- 11 Trout along with numerous rises on a busy day in Wicklow
- Warm weekend weather brings trout to drys on the Cusher
- Quiet Start to the Season on the Boyne
- Ciaran Reilly wins Youths Inter-provincial Fly Tying Competition
- New angling service launched on Lough Derg
For more details see:
Wednesday 14th , March 2012 at 1745
Chile – River Palena
Our new project in Chile:
An economic and environmental study of the factors influencing the success of a planned recreational fishery for chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Rio Palena (Region X– Northern Patagonia, Chile)
has just been launched. Visit our new website at:
http://turismoaltopalena.cl/fic/proyecto-fic/colaboradores-internacionales.html
Argentina – River Rio Grande
…..meanwhile in neighbouring Argentina the clients’ of my good friend Matthew Solon are enjoying amazing success on the Rio Grande:
Saturday 10th, March 2012 at 2100
Connaught youth team sweeps the boards at the 2012 TAFI Inter -Provincial Youth Fly-Tying Championship, The Dropping Well Pub, MIlltown, Dublin
Charles Kennedy and Noel Shiels present the cup to all Ireland champion fly tyer Ciaran Reilly (13)
Friday 9th, March 2012 at 1100
Irish Angling Update – Highlights
- Dropping water on the Drowes but a few salmon about
- Delphi salmon finally take, Waddington style fly does the business
- 12lb salmon reported from Lower Kilmurray, Munster Blackwater
- First salmon of the season confirmed on Carrowmore Lake
- Two spring salmon landed in Ballina on the 6/3/11
- 11lb springer caught on the river Feale
- A first skate on a sunny Sunday at Red Bay
- Good match fishing reported from the Roslea Lakes.
- Junior anglers enjoy goog catches of small fish at the Waterways Junior Classic on the River Erne.
- Lovely pike of 25 lb. 4 oz for Kevin Lyons on the River Shannon.
- Early sedges on Melvin should improve trout fishing
- Wet fly doing well on Mask for trout anglers
- More ferox reports from Corrib as Duck Fly make their first appearance
- Lough Conn begins the season with mixed weather yet good fishing for some
- Good Wild Brown Trout Fishing on the River Fane on Opening Day
For more details see:
Wednesday 7th, March 2012 at 1000
Well known angling journalist and columnist, David Gray, launches new blog site
David’s very popular Going Fishing column appears each Friday in the Irish Daily Star.
To read David’s new blog visit:
Tuesday 6th, March 2012 at 2000
Possible new World Record tuna of 335 kg for the Kiwis!
See:
http://news.sky.com/home/strange-news/article/16183343
Monday, 5th March 2012 at 1330
The Wild Trout Trust is looking for a Conservation Officer
A very exciting opportunity has arisen to join WTT as a Conservation Officer to provide practical advice and help in habitat management and improvement for river interests. WTT are looking for a self-starting individual with significant conservation, habitat restoration, fisheries and project management experience; you need to be passionate about trout and trout fishing!!
The conservation officer will provide practical advice and help towards improving rivers in south-east England, on the lines set out in the Plan. Details of the job, and of how to apply, is available by mailing:office@wildtrout.org
Friday, 2nd March 2012 at 1600
Ireland – Angling updates
Irish Angling Update Highlights
- Holy water brings out some big pike on Lough Ree
- Great day’s pike fishing for two anglers in the Longford area.
- Great days fishing at Oakport Lake for the Donnellan cup
- River Feale opens with sunshine and springers
- First salmon of the season on the River Moy
- Higher water levels on the River Drowes brings good sport for salmon anglers.
- First salmon of the year on fly reported from Lough Currane
- Specimen pollack up to 15 lb. along with other good deep sea fishing reported from Courtmacsherry.
- West Coast Shore League off to a great start
- Specimen pollack and ling to 23lb for anglers at Courtmasherry
- Mild weather brings trout to buzzer patterns on Lough Melvin
- Lough Mask Continues to Fish Well
For more details see:
Saturday 25th February 2012 at 1300
Ireland – Angling updates: 24th February 2012
Irish Angling Update Highlights
- A rise in water levels on the Drowes good for salmon angling
- Huge ferox feature in first week of season on Corrib
- Light Lines boat competition 2012 at Cobh
- Tough Fishing at 1st Leg of the Irish Open Shore League
- Tope to 35lb for specimen hunters at Red Bay
- Pike and Perch fishing reports from Michael Flanagan
- Popped up scad takes 28lb pike on Suck system lake
- Results from South Armagh/Lough Muckno Winter League and Dromore League
For more details see:
Monday, 20th February 2012 at 1540
Genetically engineered salmon hit some choppy waters
Firm’s genetically engineered salmon facing fierce opposition
AquaBounty Technologies, a Waltham company that has created a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon, is treading water while it waits for the Food and Drug Administration to decide whether it can sell its fast-growing fish to the public.
The already lengthy federal approval process has grown longer and more complicated in the face of strong opposition to the AquAdvantage salmon, the nation’s first genetically engineered food fish, by environmental groups, consumer advocates, and some lawmakers……
The company declined to comment on whether the cutbacks include layoffs at its Waltham office or its laboratory on Prince Edward Island, Canada, where it develops genetically engineered salmon eggs. The eggs are then shipped to Panama, where the fish are raised. Raising the fish in the United States, something AquaBounty wants to do, would require a review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency to determine whether it posed any threat to wild Atlantic salmon, an endangered species.
AquaBounty, Waltham company that has produced engineered salmon, faces opposition and financial problems
Source: boston.com
Wednesday, 17th February 2012 at 1325
Russia Presses Norway for Reduction in Mixed Stock Netting in Finnmark
“Coastal fisheries for Atlantic salmon in Finnmark, where salmon of Russian origin are intercepted, must be regulated by more restrict measures,” writes the Federal Agency for Fisheries in an unusual strong letter to Norwegian authorities.
In a letter dated January 31, Deputy Head of Department for International Cooperation in Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries V. Chiklinenkov writes: “”The Russian Federation is deeply disappointed by the proposals of the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management to not only maintain the regulations that were in place for the salmon sea fisheries in coastal waters of Northern Norway in 2011, but to weaken the restrictions for this fishery be increasing its duration in the beginning of June by one more day per week.”
The dispute between Norway and Russia on coastal net fisheries catching salmon in Finnmark has been going on for nearly two decades. The North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF) points to a scientific study stating that between 60 and 70 percent of the biggest salmon catches by Norwegian nets belong to Russia and Finland.
The Russian letter is triggered by the Norwegian Directorate’s 2012 regulation for salmon sea fishery. The regulations does not allow for the protest from the Russian side. “Russia is gravely concerned by the interceptor mixed-stock fishery in Northern Norway, as killing quite a large number of migrating salmon,” the letter reads.
For more see:
http://www.barentsobserver.com/russia-urges-norway-to-restrict-salmon-fishery.5021268-116320.html
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Commercial Salmon Netting Curtailed in Northern Ireland
Ulster Anglers Federation,
PO Box 107,
Carrickfergus,
BT38 0BW
The Ulster Angling Federation welcomes the information today from the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) that they cannot legally issue licences to net salmon this year due to the perilous status of the salmon population. This comes about as a direct result of the Ulster Angling Federation challenge to DCAL policy at the European Union Environment Directorate in Brussels. The Federation can confirm that the remaining salmon nets are in breach of the Habitats Directive as they are mixed stock fisheries, and as such are illegal due to the stock collapse on the River Finn in Donegal, a Special Area of Conservation for salmon. Sadly DCAL for some years refused to see commonsense. Following a meeting at the EU in Brussels on January 24th, DCAL have moved now in the face of threats of huge fines from Europe.
The anglers have always taken the lead in salmon conservation, and recently have exerted very considerable pressure at Stormont on this issue via the “No To Salmon Nets” group. MLAs Robin Swann and Danny Kinahan have also worked extremely hard, and have been instrumental in focusing pressure on the issue. The Ulster Angling Federation policy on salmon has not changed since we commenced our campaigns on salmon in the late 1980s. This work intensified in the early 1990s and in 1993 we set up our sister organisation the North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NI), which led directly to the buyouts of some 225 salmon nets in NI.
Despite a long series of meetings and correspondence over a number of years between The Ulster Angling Federation, the North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NI), and DCAL, this Department continued to licence the remaining Mixed Stock Interceptory salmon Net Fishery which has been taking salmon destined for a large number of rivers in NI that are not meeting their Conservation Limit, and also the River Finn.
Under European law, DCAL have failed to make an appropriate assessment under article 6(3) of a plan or project likely to have a significant effect on the conservation status of a species (Salmo Salar) for which a Candidate Special area for Conservation has been identified in Ireland (the river Finn).
They have licenced and allowed the killing of an Annex II directed species without taking account of or consulting other member nations on the impact upon their SAC (the river Finn) of that licenced activity.
The Ulster Angling Federation policy remains the same as it has always been; that there is no future for commercial salmon netting, and that exploitation by rods only, with appropriate limits, offers the only prospect of a continued salmon presence in our rivers.
Local Angling Associations have worked extremely hard for many years to conserve, protect, and enhance not only the fishery on rivers, but the entire river environment. This is important for its own sake, but also benefits local people and increasingly, visitors. Countless (voluntary) man-hours and hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent to improve rivers and associated fisheries: these Associations continue to provide a self-financing and voluntary community-based effort to look after the rivers. A huge effort is now underway to protect and conserve the salmon.
Accordingly, in recognition of the parlous state of most salmon stocks in the Province, the Ulster Angling Federation recommend that as salmon numbers are at a historically low point, angling associations give serious consideration to the immediate introduction of ‘catch and release’ for salmon in order to protect stocks.
We must now build on this success of the Habitats Directive in protecting the remaining salmon stock and work across a range of measures to conserve and enhance this wonderful fish for the future.
For further information contact:
Jim Haughey
Chairman
Ulster Angling Federation
Tel +44 78 5038 9831
Tuesday, 14th February 2012 at 1600
Remotely Estimating Fish Farm Production at Sea
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0030546
Abstract
In the face of global overfishing of wild-caught seafood, ocean fish farming has augmented the supply of fresh fish to western markets and become one of the fastest growing global industries. Accurate reporting of quantities of wild-caught fish has been problematic and we questioned whether similar discrepancies in data exist in statistics for farmed fish production. In the Mediterranean Sea, ocean fish farming is prevalent and stationary cages can be seen off the coasts of 16 countries using satellite imagery available through Google Earth. Using this tool, we demonstrate here that a few trained scientists now have the capacity to ground truth farmed fish production data reported by the Mediterranean countries. With Google Earth, we could examine 91% of the Mediterranean coast and count 248 tuna cages (circular cages >40 m diameter) and 20,976 other fish cages within 10 km offshore, the majority of which were off Greece (49%) and Turkey (31%). Combining satellite imagery with assumptions about cage volume, fish density, harvest rates, and seasonal capacity, we make a conservative approximation of ocean-farmed finfish production for 16 Mediterranean countries. Our overall estimate of 225,736 t of farmed finfish (not including tuna) in the Mediterranean Sea in 2006 is only slightly more than the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reports. The results demonstrate the reliability of recent FAO farmed fish production statistics for the Mediterranean as well as the promise of Google Earth to collect and ground truth data.
11th February 2012 at 0930
A whole new meaning to the term “rising trout”!!
10th February 2012 at 1945
Melting Ice – an increasing threat to our planet ?
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/feb/HQ_12-048_GRACE_Land_Ice_Study.html
WASHINGTON — In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team used NASA data to calculate how much Earth’s melting land ice is adding to global sea level rise.
Using satellite measurements from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), the researchers measured ice loss in all of Earth’s land ice between 2003 and 2010, with particular emphasis on glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica.
The total global ice mass lost from Greenland, Antarctica and Earth’s glaciers and ice caps during the study period was about 4.3 trillion tons (1,000 cubic miles), adding about 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) to global sea level. That’s enough ice to cover the United States 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) deep.
“Earth is losing a huge amount of ice to the ocean annually, and these new results will help us answer important questions in terms of both sea rise and how the planet’s cold regions are responding to global change,” said University of Colorado Boulder physics professor John Wahr, who helped lead the study. “The strengthof GRACE is it sees all the mass in the system, even though its resolution is not high enough to allow us to determine separate contributions from each individual glacier.”
About a quarter of the average annual ice loss came from glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica (roughly 148 billion tons, or 39 cubic miles). Ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica and their peripheral ice caps and glaciers averaged 385 billion tons (100 cubic miles) a year. Results of the study will be published online Feb. 8 in the journal Nature.
Traditional estimates of Earth’s ice caps and glaciers have been made using ground measurements from relatively few glaciers to infer what all the world’s unmonitored glaciers were doing. Only a few hundred of the roughly 200,000 glaciers worldwide have been monitored for longer than a decade.
One unexpected study result from GRACE was the estimated ice loss from high Asian mountain ranges like the Himalaya, the Pamir and the Tien Shan was only about 4 billion tons of ice annually. Some previous ground-based estimates of ice loss in these high Asian mountains have ranged up to 50 billion tons annually.
“The GRACE results in this region really were a surprise,” said Wahr, who also is a fellow at the University of Colorado-headquartered Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. “One possible explanation is that previous estimates were based on measurements taken primarily from some of the lower, more accessible glaciers in Asia and extrapolated to infer the behavior of higher glaciers. But unlike the lower glaciers, most of the high glaciers are located in very cold environments and require greater amounts of atmospheric warming before local temperatures rise enough to cause significant melting. This makes it difficult to use low-elevation, ground-based measurements to estimate results from the entire system.”
“This study finds that the world’s small glaciers and ice caps in places like Alaska, South America and the Himalayas contribute about .02 inches per year to sea level rise,” said Tom Wagner, cryosphere program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “While this is lower than previous estimates, it confirms that ice is being lost from around the globe, with just a few areas in precarious balance. The results sharpen our view of land ice melting, which poses the biggest, most threatening factor in future sea level rise.”
The twin GRACE satellites track changes in Earth’s gravity field by noting minute changes in gravitational pull caused by regional variations in Earth’s mass, which for periods of months to years is typically because of movements of water on Earth’s surface. It does this by measuring changes in the distance between its two identical spacecraft to one-hundredth the width of a human hair.
The GRACE spacecraft, developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and launched in 2002, are in the same orbit approximately 137 miles (220 kilometers) apart.
Wednesday, 1st February 2012 at 1500
As the Celtic Sea Trout Project enters its final year, the organisers are calling for on-going help with scale collection (http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/)
The Celtic Sea Trout Project (CSTP) is a European Union, Interreg IVA-funded, Ireland-Wales collaborative project on the status, distribution, genetics and ecology of sea trout around the Irish Sea.
Like any large-scale scientific project, the CSTP is reliant upon effective field sampling to collect data and material such as scales from fish for analysis, and the Project’s steering group is very keen to continue angler participation in scale collecting during 2012, which has been very successful on some rivers, less so on others.
The scale sampling to date has had mixed fortunes, but participation has been very good with over 1,600 anglers sending in 3974 sets, of which 2,322 came in 2011. The Project organisers are tremendously grateful to all of those who helped. Some rivers have done particularly well, such as the Border Esk, the Irish Dee, Argideen, Castletown and Currane, and on others some of the shortfall has been made up with other forms of sampling. CSTP will continue the sampling in 2012.
The prize draw for the champion scale samplers will be held in Carmarthen 21st March 2013, but the CSTP needs the continued support of anglers in 2012. Scales can be taken easily once you have the basic kit which is provided. CSTP project team members are available to present talks to angling clubs if required.
Contact them through the CSTP website, http://www.celticseatrout.com/about/programme.htm .
Tuesday, 31st January 2012 at 1715
New trans-generational tagging method
As reported by the Atlantic Salmon Trust (http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/)scientists at the University of Oviedo in Spain have developed a new method for tagging and identifying fish by chemical means. The research has implications for differentiating between wild and farmed fish.
The technique involves adding two stable isotopes to the fish at an established ratio. A mass spectrometer can then verify the isotope ratio of the animal, establishing if it is a tagged one.
Even when used in living organisms, such as fish, the technique does not have any environmental impact. As the fish already has copies of the chosen isotopes, there is no adverse effect on health. In fact the isotypes inserted into the female trout pass on naturally to her offspring, allowing the tracking of the next generation. This is useful in determining repopulation levels, and is currently being employed in rivers in Asturias, Spain.
The fact that the tag is trans-generational and carries through from adults to their offspring is really very exciting and will be of great use to both geneticists and fisheries biologists. If logistically feasible and cost effective, it could, for example, be really useful in tracking juvenile and adult aquaculture salmon and their offspring, in the wild.
For more see: http://www.projects.eu.com/
Great New Pacific salmon site
Do you dream about bonefish and tarpon?
Need to know more about these fascinating fish? Visit the bonefish and tarpon trust at: