Invasive plant species a threat to anglers
Dublin People 19 Nov 2011
THE Inland Fisheries Board is to team up with members
of a Northside youth club in an attempt to kill an invasive plant species that
is preventing locals from fishing in a pond.
A species of aquatic plant, known as curly waterweed
(Lagarosiphon major), has spread quickly and an almost impenetrable layer of
the plant has covered the surface of the pond in Darndale.
The Swords-based Inland Fisheries Board stocks the
pond with carp (a deep-bodied freshwater fish) on a periodic basis.
Locals and members of the Sphere 17 youth club have
regularly fished the pond in recent years.
Derek Evans, from Swords, angling correspondent with
the Irish Times, said curly waterweed is generally found in garden fishponds or
domestic fish tanks.
He said it is likely that the contents of a domestic
tank somehow found its way into the local water system and then spread in the
pond.
“This curly weed is all over the west of Ireland in
Lough Corrib,
? Mr Evans told Northside People.
“When it gets into a lake it forms a blanket across
the entire lake or pond.
“Although the fish are still alive in it, the locals
can’t actually catch any fish because they cannot get through the weed.
?
Mr Evans said it would cost in the region of
?¬5,000 to
resolve the problem.
“The members of the youth club look after the lake
well,
? he added.
“They make sure there are no trolleys or motorbikes thrown
into it.
?
In recent years Dr Joe Caffrey of the Inland Fisheries
Board has spearheaded the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Task Force in an
attempt to rid Irish lakes of different invasive plant species.
He intends to employ a method of getting rid of the
invasive plant species from the pond, which has already been used successfully
to kill the weed at Lough Corrib.
Mr Caffrey said the Sphere 17 group has made a
submission to the Heritage Council for funding to carry out the project.
He said if the application were successful he would
work with them to carry out the proposal.
“I have put together a plan that I think will work,
?
he told Northside People.
“This is jute matting or sackcloth. We have applied
this jute matting in the Corrib and it has worked phenomenally well.
“You put the jute matting on to the surface of the
pond; it saturates and sinks down on top of the weed and effectively it blocks
light. These plants need light and if they can’t get light they die very
quickly.
“Lagarosiphon is particularly perceptible to the light
being removed and it dies very quickly when you remove the light from it.
?
Des Chew is project manager at the Dublin Angling
Initiative, which aims to promote, develop and improve angling in the Dublin
area.
During summer months the main work of the initiative
is taking young people from national and secondary schools, summer projects and
youth services throughout Dublin on fishing courses.
Mr Chew said a lot of local youngsters use the pond in
Darndale to fish. He said the youth of Darndale and members of Sphere 17 in
particular would be involved in working on the project to kill the aquatic
plant at the pond.
“Sphere 17 is the regional youth service,
? stated Mr
Chew.
“We won’t do anything without working with the young people of Darndale
and giving them a sense of ownership of their own lake. There is a huge
interest in angling in Darndale.
?
Mr Chew said they have organised a few competitions at
the lake and have had over 40 young people fishing on each occasion.
“If this problem is resolved it will provide local
people with a very healthy pastime, which is low cost and lifelong,
? he added.
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