I saw this letter on an Irish web site (
http://www.angling-in-ireland.com) which may help to explain things somewhat.
"The horror story which I have to tell is one far worse than anything written by Stoker or Poe.
It is the story of how The River Shannon, once the greatest water course in Europe has been allowed to deteriorate into an almost sterile path of water devoid in many areas of most forms of water life.
As a guest house owner and fishing tackle dealer one could argue that by telling the truth about the rivers present plight, perhaps I am committing financial suicide. This may well be the case but at last the truth must be told (by all concerned) in the hope that we can save the death of this once magnificent fishery.
The truth is that the river, certainly between Roosky and Lanesboro is almost devoid of fish. Three weeks ago I sat and cried, and I don't mind admitting it, on the banks of Lough Forbes at the sight of specimen Bream and other coarse fish lying dead in the margins. Not long ago a large fish kill took place where the Camlin enters the Shannon, many local people new when and how it happened but the powers that be blamed it on spawning fish trapped in de-oxygenated water.
Last year the upper Camlin was devastated by an outflow from Longford Sewage Works, nothing was ever done apart from the local angling club losing prime stocks of trout and coarse fish.
The Shannon now flows crystal clear, the healthy peaty colour synonymous with the rivers character has now gone, for the last two years the river behind my house, which at this time of the year was always alive with fry, has been devoid of anything at all. The stretch of the river at Napogue (between Termonbarry and Lanesboro) up until two years ago held huge shoals of Bream and 100 lb plus bags were common place, I fished it last week and caught four small Perch.
The huge rafts of soapy foam below Termonbarry weir are there for all to see, the powers that be tell us that this is a natural phenomena , private water analysis tells us a different story, if it is a natural occurrence then how come the huge quantities which we see now didn't appear until three years ago?
Burying heads in the sand won't alleviate the problem, Government bodies must face the issues head on or angling tourism will be a thing of the past.
As I say, the truth must out and to hell with the consequences, I ask any interested parties to take the gloves off and support the stalwarts who run this website.
Geoff Cooper,
Termonbarry,
15th June 2000."
