The actions of two Regional Fishery Board Managers to deliberately damage the fisheries under their responsibility has ignited the anger of the Irish anglers as FISSTA call for their resignations of Mr Harry Lloyd CEO of the Northern Regional Fishery Board and Mr Aidan Barry, CEO of the South Western Fishery Board before they both do any further damage to their valuable resources which they are paid to protect.

Anglers in Donegal and all over Ireland have been highly critical of the way in which our state fisheries have been mismanaged. That is why they are refusing to implement any angling restrictions until a buyout of driftnet licences and securiity of tenure for their affiliates is granted. These basic demands are vital as they are consistently being impeded from developing angling and tourism by those whose main brief is to conserve and protect the samonid resources all over Ireland. Sadly, in an era when voluntary work from local angling clubs should be acknowledged and commended, the policy of exclusion is practised by the very Boards we have placed our trust in to ensure efficient and prudent fishery management of what should be the jewel in Ireland's tourism crown.

For example, in the SWRFB - Kerry region they have allowed netsmen take 30,000 salmon which is a recipe for a disaster in stocks. The Northern Regional Fisheries Board do their damage another way as over recent years they have used their funding to take fishery waters from local clubs and attempt to manage it without any regard for the local anglers who have established, maintained, and make up the greater part of the angling product. FISSTA have opposed this disgraceful abuse of public funds but sadly Minster Fahey has failed to act on our appeals to date to the detriment of the fishery resources concerned. The local clubs who have been threatened with extinction have attempted to fight back through FISSTA with diplomatic representations to politicians being intensified more recently without success.

However, matters took a new turn on January 1st 2002 when the season opened on the Lacagh River near Creeslough in Donegal. The Northern Regional Fisheries Board showed their complete ignorance for the management and conservation of salmon when they decided to give unlimited access to all by refusing to issue angling permits. This effectively meant everyone and anyone could fish the waters without permit restriction, launching the very first 'free for all' on any state resource ever in living memory. This action as ordered by the NRFB has sent out a very anti conservation message that the state fisheries can be fished without fear of restriction or enforcement of conservation as good management practice demands. This action confirms our worst fears of how little regard the Central and Regional Fishery Boards have for our valuable resources and vindicates our claims for Minister Fahey to grant secure tenure to all local clubs on state fisheries now before it is too late.

FISSTA have protested strongly to the Central Fisheries Board on this wanton act of environmental vandalism and call on the Minister for the Marine Frank Fahey TD to intervene immediately before further damage is done to these resources.