GAMEKEEPER FACES POACHING CHARGE

AN ANGLER who sits on a regional fisheries board charged with conserving stocks is to be prosecuted for alleged salmon poaching.

John O'Shea of Ardgroom, a town on the Cork-Kerry border, had his nets and salmon catch seized by inspectors from the South Western Regional Fisheries Board (SWRFB) last July.

Mr O'Shea, a member of the board which decides policy for the SWRFB, is alleged to have been caught fishing along the Kenmare Estuary - a protected area.

The fishery inspectors - who work for the board O'Shea sits on - claim they had been watching his boat for some hours prior to confiscating the gear just hours before the monthly board meeting in Macroom on July 16.

A local source told the Irish Sunday Mirror: "No one is disputing that Johnny didn't have a licence to fish salmon, but it's prohibited to fish in a closed or protected area no matter what licence you have.

"Mr O'Shea is supposed to have been caught in the Estuary on Kenmare river."

Another fisheries representative said: "It's bad if this is a case of gamekeeper turned poacher - we have a difficult enough job as it is."

Mr Patrick Buck, assistant manager of the SWFRB, confirmed that a member of the board is to appear before the district court for alleged infringements of fishing regulations.

Mr Buck said he did not wish to comment on the identity of the person from whom the nets and salmon were confiscated.

However, the Irish Sunday Mirror can reveal that Mr O'Shea will continue to sit on the fisheries board and help frame policies to do with fishing in the South West.

Mr Buck said that a member would only have to step down if he was convicted of infringing the fishery regulations.

Mr O'Shea is also vice-chairman of the Irish Salmon Fisherman's Association, a position that saw him taking an active stance to protect commercial fishermen's interests.

A source said: "He was very active in recent protests to the Minister for the Marine about sea anglers moving in on fishermen's territory.

"They wanted to retain salmon fishing licences for commercial fishermen.

"I daresay he was a bit of a thorn in Frank Fahey's side when he was Minister for the Marine."

Now the SWRFB say they are preparing a file to issue proceedings in the coming weeks.

Local sources confirm this will see Mr O'Shea's prosecution come before a district court in the South Kerry/West Cork area sometime in the late autumn or early winter.

Mr O'Shea is well-known locally as a skilled fisherman and mussel farmer who was elected to the fishery board by his fellow salmon fishermen.

Other members of the board are either nominated by the Minister for the Marine or elected by other groups, such as the sea angling or aqua-culture group.

The Kenmare River is a fish sanctuary and no commercial salmon fishing has been allowed there for years.

Salmon and sea trout from the 30-mile sea inlet stretching between the Kerry and Cork coasts supply the great angling rivers of the Blackwater, the Sheen and the Roughty and other lakes an d rivers in the South Kerry and west Cork areas.

There are, however, persistent problems with poaching in the area.

If convicted of a fishery offence, Mr O'Shea could lose his place on the board.

The SWRFB is a statutory authority and is charged with the protection, conservation, sustainable development and management of fisheries in its jurisdiction.

The region extends from Kerry Head to Ballycotton and includes all river catchments that enter the sea between these boundaries.

There are 22 members on the fisheries board representing interested sectors in the region including, commercial, angling, aquaculture, farming, tourism, the EPA and the Inland Fisheries Trust.

Mr O'Shea was unavailable for comment last night

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