Pictures: Audience enthralled by Inistioge's eels as local water heritage celebrated

Nore Vision kickstarted its Heritage Week series of events in Inistioge on a sunny Tuesday morning, with an event focusing on the eels of the River Nore with scientist Dr Robert Cruikshanks.

Dr Cruikshanks is a Fisheries Research Technician at Inland Fisheries Ireland in Citywest. He has worked for over 12 years on the National Eel Monitoring Programme and more recently has also been a contributor on the organisation’s Scientific Eel Fishery Programme. *READ ON BELOW*

His work encompasses the majority of the eel’s lifecycle and he has sampled rivers and lakes throughout Ireland in his study of the species, along with investigations into eel health, ageing and growth.

Over the past two summers, Nore Vision volunteers have been involved in a citizen science project monitoring the presence of elvers (young eels) at a number of sites between Thomastown and Inistioge. The monitoring is twice weekly and will finish at the end of August.

The information gathered assists the scientists in formulating their next steps in their monitoring programme which is carried out on the Suir, the Nore and the Barrow. The event was very well attended and Robert enthralled everyone with his passion and knowledge.

Everyone had an opportunity to age an eel - and some did better that others, as this is tricky. The event finished with a coffee and scone in the lovely Blackberry Café where the chat continued. Organiser Mags Morrissey was delighted with the event.

“It’s really great to see people of all ages interested and learning about our natural heritage,” she said. “Heritage Week is one of my favourite weeks of the year as there is something for everyone.”

The event was supported by Local Authority Water Programme.