Bring back bailiffs says Councillor

Councillor Price McConaghy accepts that while there are people appointed to ‘police’ rivers, he says that the present system is far from satisfactory.

At a recent meeting of Moyle District Council, Cllr. McConaghy revealed that he had reports of a pollution incident on the River Bush near the salmon station at Bushmills and he was worried it could be a “serious problem”.

Councillor McConaghy informed the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as well as Environmental Health at Moyle, but was subsequently informed that there was nothing untoward.

“I was told that the low level of water in the river, a change of direction in wind may have led to the appearance of pollution and that there was nothing to worry about. Quite frankly I thought this was nonsense,” the Cllr. said.

His comments come at a time when there is growing concern amongst anglers that the River Bush and its tributaries are being polluted on a regular basis and that the situation is not only destroying the fish, but has also virtually wiped out plant life, vital to the survival of fish.

One angler told the Times: “The state of the Bush and catchment areas such as the Moss Water, Dougherty, Blackwater, Iderown and Stracam are appalling. There needs to be people responsible for an area of the river to look after.

“A few salmon get to spawn in late December in the upper reaches and maybe one in a thousand smolt (a young, silvery salmon over two years old, but still living in a river and leaving for the sea in the Spring) survive.”

The angler, who did not wish to be named, bemoaned the fact that fish were simply not surviving given the state of the Bush and felt the situtation was getting worse with the eco symstem virtually non-existent.

“There are tens of thousands of fish being put into the Bush , but the survival rate is infinitesimal. There is too much silt and muck in the rivers and plants which are necessary for the hatching of flies, etc., to feed the fish is just not there any more,” he added.

Cllr. McConaghy said that while he recognised that the River was monitored, he felt that the return of the old style bailiff could substantially improve the situation.