The Salmon Poachers, Ireland 1962

Video Description

A look at the practice of fishing illegally for salmon in Ireland. At an unspecified location in the province of Munster, Father Peter Lemass reports of the practice of illegal fishing. One man who fishes along the river Deel describes the various means used by the poachers to land a catch. Netting of fish and snatching (a practice where grappling hooks on a fishing line pierce the flesh of a fish anywhere on its body, in order to reel it in) are common. Some use poison, which has detrimental effects on the environment. When they poison the river it cleans out all the fry and the river is useless for years after. Another man believes that there is an art to poaching, but does not advocate the use of stroke hauling, where a weighted device is used to foul-hook a fish. If the fish is badly marked, you can’t sell him. A man who claims to be a poacher is unapologetic about his illegal methods of catching fish, and works with others to avoid being caught, We have ways of our own for avoiding those bailiffs. A local priest who is a member of an angling club that fishes along the Deel acknowledges that poaching is a problem, career poachers in particular. The man who comes down day after day and methodically takes out the fish one after the other see he completely ruins the river for every other one. This episode of ‘Radharc’ was broadcast on 21 November 1962. The presenter is Father Joe Dunn and the reporter is Father Peter Lemass.