Fish Stock Survey of Transitional Waters in the Southern River Basin District – Barrow, Nore, Suir Estuary 2016
This report presents fish capture data collected during Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) surveys of transitional waterbodies and draft Ecological Quality Ratings. Two separate surveys are discussed in the current report. One was conducted throughout the Barrow/Nore/Suir transitional water body complex to designate an ecological status based on fish populations, as per the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). The other was carried out to assess juvenile bass populations in the lower sections of the transitional water body complex under IFI’s National Bass Conservation Project.
A number of fish sampling methods were used across the two surveys, which ensured that a range of habitat types were sampled, thus making it likely that all fish species present in the estuary were captured. Across both surveys, a total of 37 species and 10967 individual fish were captured. Where applicable, current data was compared to previous surveys to assess how fish populations have changed in the intervening years. Although overall fish population status have remained largely stable, changes in the population structure of some species, such as dace, an invasive, are noteworthy and are discussed. The presence of juvenile bass, plaice, cod and whiting highlights this estuary’s importance as a nursery for these popular angling species.
Topics: Transitional Waters 2016 |