Two fisheries ministers ignored borders yesterday to approve an £800,000 project aimed at developing the Erne catchment eel fishery, writes Lorna Siggins. The project, funded under the EU's Peace and Reconciliation programme, may create more than 400 jobs on the fishery. North-South cooperation in eel development could generate £20 million annually for the whole island of Ireland, the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, and his Northern counterpart, Lord Dubs, forecast.
The two ministers met at Cathaleen's Falls ESB hydro-generating station in Bally shannon, Co Donegal, at a reception hosted by the ESB and the Northern Regional Fisheries Board. The programme's main objectives are to determine the status of eel stocks throughout the Erne, and to develop a cross-Border management plan which would put it on an equal footing with the lucrative Lough Neagh eel fishery.
