Invasion of the hungry shrimp threatens Shannon fisheries

A foreign species of shrimp invading Lough Ree is already threatening native fish stocks and could result in the loss of marine tourism jobs, a local member of the Shannon Fisheries Board has warned. A fish species called 'Hemimysis Anomala' a native of the Caspian Sea, has now been found by marine scientists in large numbers on Lough Ree and also Lough Derg. This shrimp-like crustacean has spread through Europe"s waters and local fishermen are concerned that this new aggressive species could affect the whole eco-system of the River Shannon and its lakes and tributaries. 'The big concern is that they"re going to compete with juvenile fish for the same food source and could even do away with coarse fish while native shrimp could possibly die off as well,' said fisheries board member Martin McEnroe. 'I brought a scientist up to Lough Ree to look at them and he was shocked. There"s carpets of those things on the lake. We"ve now started a study to assess them as they"re going to spread all over the Shannon.' Martin said that although there is no proof of how the shrimp got here, it"s presumed that they came attached to boats transported here from continental Europe for holidays along the River Shannon. However those who transport these shrimp could end up badly affecting the tourism angling industry they originally came here to enjoy. 'Don"t forget this threatens the whole tourism in the industry in the Shannon system, there"s livelihoods at stake,' said Martin. 'We"ve spent a lot of money and time, millions of euro, on developing Lough Ree as a fishery and here we are with the whole thing under threat.' The latest marine crises, coming after the Zebra mussels invasion, the weeds on the River Inny and a number of other eco-threats in the past number of years, has again prompted the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board to call on the government to introduce legislation to control the spread of pests. 'There are no restrictions in place for the movement of boats or the banning of exotic plants in the country... we"re calling on the government for years to introduce proper legislation,' added Martin. He also reminded boat owners and anglers to remember to be responsbile and always powerhose out their boats before moving them.