Press Releases

Archived Press Releases:

 May 12 ,2007
ELECTION 2007: How clean is Donegal’s water, and other pertinent political questions…?

 September 25 ,2006
OYSTER CRISIS EXPOSES "SHAMBLES" IN MANAGEMENT OF SWILLY

 July 11 ,2005
ATTEMPT TO DOUBLE SALMON-FARMING OUTPUT IN LOUGH SWILLY

 August 23 ,2004
WHICH PART OF "NO" DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND?

 June 02 ,2004
COULTER CALLS FOR POLITICAL CHANGE IN DONEGAL

 December 15 ,2003
PORTSALON SALMON-FARMING LICENCE REFUSED BY ALAB

 November 05 ,2003
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY FEDERATION OF IRISH SALMON AND SEA TROUT ANGLERS, FRIENDS OF CLEW BAY AND SAVE THE SWILLY

 September 24 ,2003
PRIME TIME EXPOSES AQUACULTURE'S SHORTCOMINGS

 July 24 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY CALLS FOR FARMED SALMON MORTALITY MONITOR

 July 21 ,2003
ANOTHER DISASTER IN INVER BAY - INQUIRY ESSENTIAL

 July 17 ,2003
"RURAL DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY"

 June 21 ,2003
ANOTHER DISASTER IN INVER BAY - INQUIRY ESSENTIAL

 February 08 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS INISHOWEN POLITICIANS

 February 03 ,2003
BLUE FLAG BEACH THREATENED BY 80-ACRE FISH FARM

 January 29 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY 10,000-SIGNATURE PETITION ACCEPTED BY EUROPE

 January 28 ,2003
NEW ALLIANCE FORMED IN SWILLY

 December 16 ,2002
"STOP RIPPING UP THE SWILLY" INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEMAND

 December 13 ,2002
LOUGH SWILLY'S INDIGENOUS FISHERMEN SPEAK OUT

 October 01 ,2002
Press Releases Save The Swilly 1 October 2002 PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS INTEGRATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

 September 25 ,2002
SAVE THE SWILLY WELCOMES EU STRATEGY ON COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

 August 12 ,2002
'Lough Swilly ICZM Report'

 August 02 ,2002
QUESTIONS OVER DECOMPOSING SALMON IN INVER BAY

 June 03 ,2002
NO ROOM FOR TRADITION IN LOUGH SWILLY

 May 03 ,2002
Save The Swilly opts for "Swilly First"

 May 03 ,2002
Save The Swilly/Green Party candidate withdraws

 May 01 ,2002
Save The Swilly/Green Party candidate to contest Donegal North-East

 April 18 ,2002
COULTER TO BE "AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE" FOR SAVE THE SWILLY

 March 25 ,2002
Save The Swilly presents 10,000-signature petition to EU

 March 12 ,2002
Study of Lough Swilly launched

 November 30 ,2001
STS letter to Hugh Byrne, Minister for State for the Department of the Marine

 November 27 ,2001
ICZM AND OSPAR - NOT CLAMS - FOR SWILLY

 October 17 ,2001
SALMON FARM WANTS STILL MORE LICENCES INSHORE

 September 17 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS LABOUR PARTY

 September 13 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS MINISTER OF STATE BYRNE

 September 01 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY BEGINS FUNDRAISING DRIVE

 August 28 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY WELCOMES I.F.A. INITIATIVE

 May 15 ,2001
EXPANSION OF SALMON FARMING TRAGIC FOR SWILLY

 April 09 ,2001
MUSSEL BARRELS ADRIFT IN LOUGH SWILLY

 March 22 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY PRESENTS PETITION

 March 13 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY QUESTIONS MINISTER BYRNE

 March 11 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY REAFFIRMS CALL FOR MORATORIUM

 February 20 ,2001
LAUNCH OF SAVE THE SWILLY WEBSITE

 January 24 ,2001
An open letter to the people on the shores of Lough Swilly:

 January 16 ,2001
Delegation meets Minister Hugh Byrne

 January 09 ,2001
Save The Swilly (from looking like Mulroy Bay)

SAVE THE SWILLY - December 13 ,2002

LOUGH SWILLY'S INDIGENOUS FISHERMEN SPEAK OUT

Friday, 13th December 2002 - At a time of grave uncertainty for the Irish fishing fleet, Lough Swilly's indigenous fishermen are facing an invasion into their 'turf' by Dutch-controlled mussel dredgers determined to control the area's shellfish sector.

Representatives of three segments of Lough Swilly's inshore fisheries will meet on Saturday, 14th December at the Holiday Inn in Letterkenny to discuss the situation. Media are invited to a briefing to be held at 3.00pm. Representatives will include the Brown family from Inch Pier, who have been fishing Lough Swilly for generations; licensed wild oyster fishermen, some of whom have links to oyster fishing in Lough Swilly dating back to the 19th century; and traditional oyster pickers, several of whom have been prosecuted for this activity over the past year, and whose families have supplemented their incomes since the 1950s from oyster picking.

While the three groups have different concerns, they all believe they are being excluded from the long-term development of Lough Swilly by foreign-controlled companies actively supported by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, An Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and the Coordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems (CLAMS).

INCH FISHERMEN: The restoration and modernisation of Inch Pier should be a clear priority for the inshore sector in Lough Swilly, but representatives of the Inch and Leenane Fishermen's Organisation have received no support or even recognition from the local Inshore Fisheries Development Project. Repeated applications for funding to develop the Inch Pier and to modernise the Inch fleet have been ignored by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and by BIM. In an effort to supplement the declining income from the whitefish sector the Brown family is seeking some additional ground for mussel cultivation. However, the indications are that the Dutch-backed applications are being given top priority.

WILD OYSTER FISHERMEN: Bottom-culture mussel licences granted to foreign-controlled operators three years ago were in direct breach of Section 8 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997, in that they allowed the licencees to seed mussel over wild oyster beds. This section of the Act states: "The licensing authority shall not licence a person to engage in aquaculture within the limits of an oyster bed or oyster fishery…without the consent [of licenced wild oyster fishermen]…" The Lough Swilly Wild Oyster Development Association represents licensed oyster fishermen in the Swilly. This group was formed to protect and enhance the Lough Swilly wild oyster fishery, which has been fished for hundreds of years. The group is now concerned that official policy is aiming to limit or exclude the licensed wild oyster fishermen from the lough, in favour of the large Dutch-backed mussel dredgers.

OYSTER PICKERS: Several oyster pickers have been prosecuted over the past year for an activity that has been carried out by a small number of families for decades. The activity is unlicensed, and the court has upheld the Northern Regional Fisheries Board contention that manual oyster pickers can be prosecuted. It is the view of the families that have been involved in the process that some mechanism can and should be found to allow them to continue their activities in a regulated and legal way.

Representatives of all three groups will be available for comment at a media briefing at 3.00pm on Saturday, 14th December 2002 at the Holiday Inn, Letterkenny.

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