Salmon poachers pull shotgun on officials

FOUR officials from the Southern Regional Fisheries Board had a shotgun pulled on them and their van broken up, after they tried to stop a Traveller gang of illegal salmon poachers.

The violent incident happened on Friday night, following a joint operation with gardaí. A source said although no arrests have been made, gardaí are aware of their identities and will be making arrests over the coming days.

Salmon poaching is very lucrative with the average wild salmon fetching around €150.