Fisheries and the Environment

The environment section of the South Western Regional Fisheries Board is primarily involved in the protection, conservation and enhancement of the fisheries habitat within the region.

Legislation

The SWRFB is a statutory agency formed by the Fisheries Act 1980. It has specific law enforcement functions under sucessive fisheries legislation from 1959- 2000 and under the Local Governemnt (Water Pollution) Act 1977 as ammended.

The SWRFB is a prescribed body under planning legislation. This means it must be notified by County Councils of all developments which are planned in the region.

What we do

The SWRFB's environmental officers deal with a wide range of activities and actions that directly or potentially impact upon the fisheries habitat. These can include:

Planning application assessments, reports to planning authorities and appeals to An Bord Pleanala.
Activities relating to forestry e.g. forestation felling, thinning, watercourse crossings, fertiliser applications etc and reports to the forestry service/forestry company.
IPC licencsing and Local Authority licences.
Carrying out Pollution Prevention patrols (ground and air).
Investigation of pollution reports, algal blooms etc.
Investigation and remediation of fish kills.
Processing of prosecutions and court actions arising from incidents of water pollution
Monitoring water quality of fisheries
Undertake farm inspections
Undertake Local Authority inspections
Undertake commercial permises inspections
Site assessments on habitat protection
Fish health monitoring
Aquatic plant monitoring and surveillance of invasive species
Site assessments of drainage and channel maintenance programmes.
REPS presentations and public awareness campaigns
Continuous monitoring and involvement in new legislation, technology and training

Agencies we deal with

On a day to dya basis the Board's environmental staff engage with a wide range of other bodies, both statutory and non-statutory, national, cross border and Northern Irish. These can include :

Local authorities
Environmental Protection Agency
Nathional Roads Authority
Government Departments
Other Fisheries Boards
Angling Clubs
An Taisce
NGOs
Office of Public Works
National Parks and Wildlife Service
Marine Institute
Fisheries Conservancy Board, Northern Ireland
Environment and Heritage Service, Northern Ireland
Lough Agency
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland.

The public's role

The public play an essential role in the protection of the aquatic environment. This role primarily relates to the reporting of incidents of water pollution and interfernece in freshwater habitst. Should you see something suspicious, PLEASE contact us immediately. All reports are dealt with in a confidential manner.

Email:

swrfb@swrfb.ie

Address:

Sunnyside House,
Macroom,
Co.Cork, Ireland.

Telephone:

from Ireland: (026) 41222
from abroad: +353 26 41222

Fax:

from Ireland: (026) 41223
from abroad: +353 26 41223

Public office hours:

9.30 a.m - 13.00 pm
2.00 pm - 5.00 pm

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South Western Regional Fisheries Board