Plenty of specimen fish catches recorded in 2018 €9.2 million sanctioned for roads
GREYSTONES was the location for a new Irish record catch after a Tope weighing 34.02 kg was caught in October.
The catch is one of the one of many included in the just published Irish Specimen Fish Committee (ISFC) report for 2019.
Founded in 1955, the report sets out to verify, record and publicise the capture of large fish caught on rod and line by anglers in Ireland, both in freshwater and marine waters. Over 30,000 claims have been received by the ISFC over the past 63 years
Angler Stephen Hanway from Dublin set a new Irish record on October 3 when he caught a Tope weighing 34.02 kg at Greystones. He used Mackerel as bait.
The two largest Tope catches of the year both occurred in Greystones, with Clyde McElwaine second after using Mackerel for his 27.22 kg specimen on June 30. The third and fourth largest catches took place in Wicklow with Daudu Dennis using Coalfish for a 26.31 kg specimen and John Millerick using Mackerel for a 22.68 kg fish.
Craig Murphy caught the fifth largest Black Bream last year in Wicklow on June 26 using squid and weighing 1.00 kg.
Kit Dunne caught the seventh heaviest Spur Dogfish of the year in Wicklow on April 22. He used Mackerel as bait to land the 6.58 kg fish. Paul Smith also used Mackerel to catch a Spur Dogfish in Wicklow weighing 6.46 kg. Other specimen Spur Dogfish catches in Wicklow include Garry Blake with a 6.01 kg catch on March 24 using Squid and Mackerel, Thomas Lynch of August 4 using squid and mackerel for a 5.99 kg catch, Ken Garry using Mackerel as bait on April 7 and Stan Ryan using Squid and Mackerel to catch two large specimens on April 7.
Des Chew caught a Thick Lipped Mullet weighing 2.81 kg at Vartry Estuary on July 20 using bread. The Vartry Estuary was also the location for another catch weighing 2.45 kg by Des Chew on August 4 and a 2.30 kg catch by Brian Cooke on October 21. Craig Murphy was the captor of a 2.30 kg Thick lipped Mullet in the River Vartry on July 9.
Of the top 50 largest Smooth Hounds landed in Ireland last year, the overwhelming majority were captured off Wicklow’s coastline. The heaviest catch of the year was 8.30 kg by Evan McGovern using crab on June 24. Crab was also the bait used by Bert McGregor to land a 8.16 kg specimen, Shane McLave for his 7.48 kg catch, Thomas Lynch with 7.26 kg, Jeff Nolan with 7.14 kg and John Millerick with 6.35 kg.
Two special awards have also been won for catches landed in Wicklow. The Young Specimen Angler of the Year award went to John Patrick Chew of Dublin for the 5.9 kg Smooth-hound he caught on June 22. Dr Arthur Went, a noted fisheries biologist and one of the two founder members of the
ISFC, nominated this award which based on the highest percentage of the specimen weight taken by an angler aged 13 years or younger.
The Best International fish Award went to French native Daudu Denis for the 26.31 kg Tope caught in Wicklow on October 2. ALMOST €10 million in funding has been allocated towards repairs regional and local road repairs in Wicklow.
The funding was announced this week as part of a €484 million national initiative.
According to Wicklow TD Andrew Doyle, the funding will help to counteract much of the damage caused to Wicklow roads following severe weather events in recent years.
‘Recent extreme weather events have had a major impact on the regional and local road network and this funding will see essential maintenance and improvements carried out. These events, combined with the extended period of reduced funding for road maintenance following the economic downturn, have left the road network much more vulnerable to damage,’ he said.
Within the €9,276,380 Wicklow allocation, €70,000 has been earmarked for the R755 Calary Road Realignment while €249,500 has been allocated for Bridge Rehabilitation Works.
Twelve bridges will receive work including the Navvy Bridge, Arklow; Rathdrum Bridge; Hell’s Kettle Bridge, Donard; Sallymount Bridge, Brittas Bay and Knocksink Bridge, Enniskerry.
The sum of €315,000 will be spent on 13 regional road projects including the Florence and Adelaide Road Junction, Bray; Lackeragh (Phase 2); Emoclew Road, Arklow; Dunbur Road, Wicklow, Herbert Road, Bray and Ferns Road, Carnew.