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Post by easky on Mar 5, 2012 15:28:22 GMT
Great to see this result and well done to everyone involved in bringing this case to court. Also encouraging to see the court taking this seriously with a substantial fine Dunadry man fined £19,000 for pollution offence A Co Antrim man was fined £19,000 in his absence plus £112 court costs at Antrim Magistrates’ Court today. Aidan Harkin of Dunadry Road, Dunadry, Co Antrim was fined for making polluting discharges to the Sixmilewater on 28 June 2010 and 10 January 2011. On 28 June 2010 and 10 January 2011, Water Quality Inspectors, acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) observed the Sixmilewater to be grey in colour with extensive fungal growth and foul smell. The source of the discharge was traced to premises owned by Mr Harkin. On 1 September 2010 Mr Harkin was issued with an Article 12 Enforcement Notice stating that “the effluent from 75 Dunadry Road, Dunadry was in breach of the consent limits set, which is in contravention of Article 7 of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999”.
The discharge was caused by an inadequate septic tank system serving the property which resulted in a discharge of effluent reaching the waterway. The Inspector estimated the run off to be approximately 10 litres per minute, the waterway upstream was found to be clean.
A sample taken at the time of the incident confirmed that the discharge contained poisonous, noxious, or polluting matter which would have been potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving watercourse.
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Post by easky on Feb 29, 2012 12:41:37 GMT
thanks Davy, we have been campaigning hard now for 7 months on the issue of the nets and will keep the site updated as things develop in the future.
As the moment the latest is that the DCAL Minister yesterday delayed her decision on whether to issue the licenses yet again. The nets are due to start on the 17th so we will know one way or the other before then.
We are hoping that common sense will prevail and there really will be no nets this year
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Post by easky on Feb 28, 2012 20:48:24 GMT
Hi All
I will keep this section updated as things happen with the No Salmon Nets campaign ... in the meantime I have pasted in some background info
Who are we? • ‘No Salmon Nets’ (NSN) is a cross community pressure group formed in response to the dire/critical state of our migratory fish stocks, principally the iconic Atlantic salmon • The group has no political, religious or other affiliations and is made up of a broad collation of concerned anglers, individuals, representatives of angling clubs and organisations • What unites this group is a collective desire and commitment to work together to protect and conserve our remaining salmon stocks for present and future generations
What is our aim? • We have one simple, overriding aim and that is to see a return to abundance of our salmon stocks for the benefit of the whole community
What are we calling for?At the moment we believe the single biggest obstacle in the conservation of our salmon stocks is the continued operation of licensed salmon nets on the north Antrim coast, we are therefore calling for: • The immediate removal of the remaining 6 salmon nets which are licenced annually by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL)
Why are we calling for this – the state of salmon stocks today? • Salmon numbers all over Ireland are under pressure like never before, the situation has reached critical levels in many areas, with many rivers in the south now closed, while others have severe restrictions in force • The situation in the north in the DCAL jurisdiction is particularly precarious – here most if not all rivers are not meeting their conservation limits – put simply this means they are not getting enough salmon returning to the rivers each year to sustain the population in the long term
What is being done? • Anglers are only too aware of the state of our salmon stocks and are taking action to reverse this trend • Many clubs are very proactive, carrying out a range of conservation measures such as voluntary catch and release, habitat restoration and enhancement, voluntary bailiffing to safeguard stocks, and running local hatcheries
What impact are the remaining commercial salmon nets having? 1. These nets cancel out conservation work • These measures can and are making a difference to the salmon stocks in our rivers but they need to be part of a bigger joined up management approach - at the moment this is not the case • Hatcheries and other conservation work helps to repopulate rivers with more young fish, these go to sea and then return to the rivers to spawn and begin the cycle again • However many of these salmon are intercepted by salmon nets before they enter the rivers – this effectively cancels out any positive gains in terms of more fish returning to repopulate the rivers 2. These nets are in breach of the EU habitats Directive • The majority of these nets are ‘mixed stock’ – this is the most destructive type of netting as it is non-discriminatory ie. they catch salmon destined for rivers on both the east and west coasts (Foyle and even Donegal) rather than a single river • This is a big problem as everyone is ‘working blind’ as you simply do not know where the salmon are from or destined - this means it is impossible in practice to manage or protect stocks from rivers where numbers are critical • These nets are in breach of the directive as it has been scientifically proven that some of the fish are destined for Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) – these areas are strictly protected sites designated under the EC Habitats Directive • By contravening the EU Habitats directive the UK Government is liable for hefty fines – in practice these will be deducted from the NI block grant so will effect each and every one of us in NI • The Ulster Angling Federation have lodged an official complaint with the EU on this – this is scheduled to be heard at the end of this month (January 2012) 3. Restricting social and economic benefits of angling in rural communities • These nets bring in approx £61,000 per year to the public purse – angling tourism has been calculated at over £25million annually • This is the tip of the iceberg – there is huge potential for salmon angling tourism in NI – however this can not be developed at present as the pre-requisite is to have a healthy population of salmon in our rivers
What benefits will the removal of the nets bring? • Very simply the removal of the nets will be more salmon returning to our rivers every year • More salmon coupled with conservation measures already in place will help to restore our rivers to abundance • Increasing numbers of returning salmon will unlock the potential of angling tourism which will benefit entire local communities rather than a very small number of individuals
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AGM
Jan 21, 2012 9:23:15 GMT
Post by easky on Jan 21, 2012 9:23:15 GMT
cheers Davy
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AGM
Jan 20, 2012 22:18:46 GMT
Post by easky on Jan 20, 2012 22:18:46 GMT
Hi Davie
Do you know when the AGM is happening this year? cheers
Andrew
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Post by easky on Nov 30, 2011 9:49:34 GMT
got 20 plus and best about 5.5lbs, couple good nights of 5 but apart from that fairly patchy and as the guys have said October wasn't good, for night fishing anyway. Fair bit down on last year (got nearly 50) but then again didn't fish as much
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Post by easky on Oct 19, 2011 20:26:07 GMT
that is great news that a lot of the issues facing the Sixmile are being brought to the attention of those 'up on the hill'. This can only be a good thing imho and can only serve to keep things moving in the right direction
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Post by easky on Sept 27, 2011 18:11:59 GMT
cheers guys... right time right place and all that good to see the otters making a come back, shows the river is in good/better health
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Post by easky on Sept 26, 2011 11:43:47 GMT
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Post by easky on Aug 18, 2011 12:14:09 GMT
super fish guys, haven't been out for a while but must get up a night again soon
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Post by easky on Aug 18, 2011 12:12:58 GMT
sounds like a great night Davy, well done . I think its a magical time to be out at night with the fish coming on and meeting with other river residents. I met Mr Otter in the same pool when I had my 'good night' .... we are obviously not the only ones have some good fishing ;D
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Post by easky on Aug 6, 2011 12:55:35 GMT
really bad luck Allen and sounds like it was a decent fish, still better to have lost and all that. I'm sure the next one will stick
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Post by easky on Aug 5, 2011 10:43:16 GMT
good to hear of a few fish about and hopefully this rain (if it arrives!) will bring a few more in
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Post by easky on Aug 5, 2011 10:42:13 GMT
certainly is some lovely water Andy and good to hear you enjoyed your visit .... just a pity about your 'guide' for the night... I hope you didn't tip him
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Post by easky on Aug 4, 2011 18:16:41 GMT
good to see a few fish about, hopefully we will get some rain over the next few days and bring a few more in
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Post by easky on Aug 3, 2011 14:24:54 GMT
cheers Allen, they really are beautiful fish and as you say many are very sea trout like
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Post by easky on Jul 31, 2011 18:49:58 GMT
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Post by easky on Jul 1, 2011 12:26:19 GMT
it was only small Davy, about a pound and and quarter but still good to get off the mark. Got it in one of the pools you usually fish
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Post by easky on Jun 30, 2011 11:12:01 GMT
that's really bad news Davy , any more update on it?
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Post by easky on Jun 30, 2011 11:09:45 GMT
out last night and got off the mark with my first dollie of the season. There are certainly a few about now but I get the impression they are still thin on the ground. I think the next couple of spates should bring more in
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