Pic: Jim Campbell.
Fish been unloaded from the Saltees Quest in Kilmore Quay.

THEY CAME from near and far to load up with fresh, free fish but there was no escaping the seriousness of the situation for most of those who were at Kilmore Quay on Thursday.

“It’s an absolute disgrace,” said Melinda Hayes, who was passing by while walking her dog and saw the crowd. She criticised the policy of dumping fish and added: “If you’re a worker in this country it’s nothing but hassle and grief. Do the government realise how many jobs are at stake? Do they want everyone on the dole?”

The crew deposited row after row of boxes of monkfish on the quay shortly after 11 a.m. and those gathered quickly moved to stock up on the pricey fish.

Saltees Quest skipper Jimmy Byrne said that the support he had received was unbelievable: “The public are up in arms because they never realised before that we were throwing fish back. The amount of people that came up and shook my hand was amazing.”

A Facebook page called Support Skipper Jimmy Byrne, started on Thursday, has garnered over 6,000 followers.