Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the area of Binevenagh Lake; how many brown trout are known to have been caught there by anglers in each of the last five years; what is the present estimated brown trout population; and how this population compares with other similar Department of Agriculture angling waters in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. MasonBinevenagh Dam is an artificial lake of 14 acres. The numbers of brown trout caught there in the last 441W five years are estimated on the basis of census returns to be:
The Department estimates the present brown trout population in this water to be 250 adult fish with a supporting stock of around 750 juvenile fish. Because of its acidity and consequential low productivity and its small acreage it is not comparable with any other water under the Department's control.
1972 … … … … 517 1973 … … … … 1,335 1974 … … … … 300 1975 … … … … 248 1976 … … … … not available
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated brown trout population per acre of the rivers Roe and Faugham and each of their major tributaries, following the electric fishing counts carried out by the Foyle Commission in the last year.
§ Mr. MasonThe Foyle Commission's electric fishing count on the River Roe is carried out mainly to determine the distribution and number of salmon fry. The count is, therefore, carried out in the upper reaches of the river and tributaries, where the results will not necessarily be comparable with the remainder of the river. On the best estimate, therefore, the stock of brown trout is 370 fingerlings and 517 older trout per acre. No figures are available for the River Faughan.
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the brown trout waters in the Northern Ireland part of the Foyle area and give details of the restocking of each such water with brown trout in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. MasonAbundant brown trout populations exist in almost all of the river systems in the Northern Ireland part of the Foyle Area. The Department has put the following numbers of brown trout into the five lakes which it owns or leases in the Foyle area between 1972 and 1976:
- Lough Ash:
- 4,400 wild browns
- 34,000 brown fed fry
- 2,300 brown yearlings
- Binevenagh:
- 3,100 wild browns
- 3,000 brown autumn fingerlings
442 - Bradan:
- 5,500 wild browns
- Lee:
- 2,300 wild browns (this fishery has been found to be self-supporting and hence no stocking since 1973)
- Moor:
- 6,450 wild browns
- 4,350 brown autumn fingerlings
- 300 brown yearlings