Ballina is to be retained as the headquarters of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board it was announced this week.
This comes following a strong lobby by fisheries board members and local politicians.
Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for Labour Affairs Dara Calleary made the announcement on Wednesday and welcomed the news for Ballina.
“I am delighted that Ballina is to be retained as the head office of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board. The North Western Region is, undoubtedly, one of Europe's top angling destinations and is considered by many as a salmon fishing paradise,” said Minister Calleary.
“This departmental announcement cements that widely held view and is a very clear and strong endorsement of Ballina and of the River Moy which produces about 6,000 salmon to the rod annually. I wish to publicly acknowledge the contribution of chairman of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board John Walkin, of the board’s CEO Vincent Roche and his staff, and I look forward to continuing to work with them for the betterment of the region into the future,” he said.
“This announcement is the foundation on which to build on further developments of the River Moy,” concluded Minister Calleary.
The Moy River, along with other important fisheries in the region, accounts for a third of the salmon catch in the country. More than 7,200 salmon were caught on the Moy this year and the river attracted fishermen from 30 different countries.
An annual investment of €2 million in the Moy catchment returns a spend of between €12 million and €15 million to the local economy.
The North Western Regional Fisheries Board has also warmly welcomed the announcement by Minister of State Calleary. The board’s headquarters office in Ballina is to be retained when the new fisheries organisation, Inland Fisheries Ireland, takes over the functions of the board at the end of this year.
Welcoming the announcement, the chairman of the board, John Walkin, thanked Minister Calleary and the other public representatives who supported the board’s campaign to retain the regional office. Mr Walkin added that he looked forward to seeing the Government decision reflected in the new Fisheries Bill which is to be published next week.
Deputy John O’Mahony has also welcomed the decision but said: “This issue should never have arisen in the first place. The NWRFB office in Ballina serves a large area and is an extremely busy office and for the Government to have even considered closing it, shows how out of touch with reality it sometimes can be. We campaigned hard to keep the office and I’m absolutely delighted that the Minister has seen sense on this issue.”
