Councillor claims fishing in Ballina is 'finished' if action not taken on seal population
Seals in the Moy Estuary in Ballina are having a devastating effect on salmon stocks in the river, according to a local councillor.
A local councillor has claimed that Ballina is ‘finished’ as a fishing town unless something is done to control the seal population on the Moy Estuary.
Cllr John O’Hara made his comments at last month’s meeting of the Ballina Municipal District after previously raising a notice of motion calling for the implementation of a seal cull in the area to boost the population of the local salmon.
The municipal district received correspondence from Minister for Local Government Malcolm Noonan who said the Department could issue licenses under Section 42 to cull individual problem seals where they are causing damage to food, livestock, crops and other flora and fauna of the fisheries. He noted that three Section 42 licenses had been issued for the Moy Estuary since 2016, none of which have been used.
The Minister said culling seals is unlikely to be an effective management measure because seals from Scottish waters, which number around 100,000 in population, migrate to Irish waters to feed. He added that a pilot research study, titled ‘Seals Fisheries Coexisting Sustainably’, is currently being carried out at University College Cork with a key focus on seal depredation monitoring and mitigation, as well as research on the application of startle technology to reduce depredation in static fisheries.
Cllr O’Hara described the letter as "no response" to the issues that Ballina is facing with its dwindling salmon population.
“I’m not against seals but there will soon be no more fishing in Ballina, which we market as the Salmon Capital of Ireland. We want to see our fish come back.
“We don’t need to kill the seals but something has to be done, that may be relocating them because we are finished as a fishing town if action is not taken”
Head of the municipal district Declan Turnbull said it is the council's intention to ask an expert from Inland Fisheries Ireland to attend a meeting of the municipal district to discuss a potential seal cull and other options available to the council.
