Madam, – Over the past number of years the Crana River in Buncrana, Co Donegal has been plagued by gangs of youths poaching the local river. Their ages range from 12 to 20 and the situation has now got completely out of control. Gangs of the youths roam the river banks intimidating the local anglers and local farmers whose lands border the river.
This past week they hung the head and entrails of a salmon on the gate of the main entrance to Swan’s Park, which is Buncrana’s main park and is frequented by hundreds of tourists every week. As of Saturday September 4th, the entrails had not been removed.
Over the past number of years Buncrana has suffered a serious decline in jobs and with the closure of Fruit of the Loom, local shirt factories and the threat of further redundancies I believe that our future lies in tourism.
In an edition of Trout & Salmonmagazine it was stated that a staggering £3.4 billion a year is spent on angling tourism in England and Wales. Here in Buncrana we have some of the finest angling in Ireland with the Fullerton Dam, the Crana River and the Mill River. It is estimated that salmon angling in the west of Ireland generates some €11 million annually with €6.43 million generated by overseas visitors and €4.59 million by local salmon anglers.
With the proper promotion from Fáilte Ireland, Northern Regional Fishery Board and the local community we could attract a more significant number of anglers to visit our town and enjoy our angling facilities.
It is disgusting to witness the remains of our fabled dish, the salmon, a species traditionally prized above all others in Ireland and one that was a veritable symbol of the State adorning our old 10p coins before the introduction of the euro. Perhaps it’s a symbol of how our moral values have declined in Ireland. – Yours, etc,