The eel fishery on the River Shannon was for many years an important economic activity, with eel weirs everywhere, eel spears of different designs and eel boats carrying the produce. The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) controls the eel fishery (as a by-product of their control over the lower Shannon at the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric power station) and many boaters will have seen their eel nets at Killaloe and Clonlara.
But the European eel is now a critically endangered species and all eel fishing has been banned in (the republic of) Ireland. The ESB is now engaged in "trap and transport" operations, trying to get as many eels as possible past obstructions (like Ardnacrusha) and down to the sea, and helping the glass eels upriver when they arrive. Here http://irishwaterwayshistory.com/about/irish-waterways-operations/the-esbs-shannon-eel-fishery/ is a page about the ESB eel fishery. bjg
