198 SALMON FISHING 



bilities of the Suir. It was evidently intended by 

 Nature to supply food to many of the inhabitants 

 of the counties of Waterford and Tipperary. It 

 would do so if it were protected and its resources 

 husbanded. The wealth derived from its fisheries 

 would be enormous. Salmon at two shillings a 

 pound soon 'run into money. 1 At present there 

 is very little attempt at preservation. Lack of 

 funds is the chief, but not the only reason. The 

 spawning beds are almost completely unprotected, 

 and not one salmon in twenty spawns. Most 

 of the fish are killed by poachers. The spawn- 

 ing beds, apart from the main river, are over 

 two hundred miles in length. To protect them 

 properly would require nearly one hundred bailiffs 

 and the assistance of the Police. I think the funds 

 do not allow for more than eight men on all the 

 immense stretches. Thus, you may say that there is 

 virtually no protection of the spawning beds in the 

 tributaries. The main river protects itself; it 

 alone, practically, supplies fish now. If the spawning 

 beds of the tributaries were protected there would 

 be 500 salmon in the river for every one that is in it 

 at present. The salmon in the Suir never get a 

 chance. They are persecuted, legally and illegally, 

 day and night ; how a single fish is left is a puzzle. 

 From Clonmel to the sea nets are at work day 

 and night. Below Clonmel the river is good for rod- 

 fishing only on one stand, that which is known as 

 4 Dudley's, 1 where many peal are caught between July 

 and September. The water from Clonmel up to 



