A Manx landowner has issued a public challenge to DEFA Minister Clare Barber MHK. Alf Caine has accused the government of failing to protect Tromode Dam and the River Glass.
The dam, once part of the historic Clucas Laundry site, is drying out. Wildlife is disappearing. Responsibility, he says, is being dodged.
Mr Caine owns Castleward Farm. He’s lived there since 1987. He says the River Glass sluice — which feeds the dam — is blocked. (See below) Gravel and vegetation have choked the flow. The dam now dries up in hot weather. Fish and eels are stranded. Herons feed on them.
“This isn’t pond management,” he writes. “It’s statutory responsibility.”
The River Glass is a designated watercourse under the Flood Risk Management Act 2013. The dam isn’t. That technicality, Caine argues, lets DEFA and DOI pass the buck. Meanwhile, the ecosystem collapses.
Wildlife in Decline
Caine says river life has vanished. Shoals of fish, herons, shags, and cormorants were once common. Now, he sees only the occasional heron — and mostly at the dam, feeding on dying fish.
In her response dated 7 October 2025, Minister Barber cited the 2024 Salmonid Monitoring Report to support claims of “healthy numbers” of salmon, trout, and eels. But Caine challenges the relevance of that data, noting that none of the four sampling sites — Baldwin Village, Papermill, Tromode, and Sir George’s Bridge — include his 1,000-metre stretch of the River Glass.
“Castleward Farm is private property and has not been accessed or surveyed by DEFA,” he writes. “On what basis does DEFA claim to know the condition or ‘health’ of the river on this stretch?”
He further disputes DEFA’s assertion that the area is “being managed appropriately” as part of a Biosphere “care area,” arguing that repeated drying out of the Dam contradicts that claim.
“So how,” he asks, “does DEFA know the river’s health here?”
Biosphere Status at Risk
Minister Barber said last year on local radio: “You only get one chance to protect our history.” Caine agrees. He says Tromode Dam is part of that history. Once lost, it’s gone forever.
He warns that the situation threatens the Island’s UNESCO Biosphere status. The next review is meant to be this year. The drying dam, he says, undermines the Island’s credibility.
Clear Demands
Caine wants action. He calls for:
- A site visit with DEFA leadership.
- A second visit with DOI and DEFA together.
- Routine inspections during dry spells.
- A written statement clarifying who maintains the sluice.
Caine says the public deserves leadership — not deflection. He warns of reputational damage ahead of the Biosphere review and the next election.
Caine said:
“This is not a complicated engineering problem. It is a straightforward maintenance issue that could restore water to the Dam and protect an important wildlife habitat.
We have reached the point where leadership is needed. Government departments have acknowledged the issue and the process required. The question now is whether they are prepared to act before more wildlife is lost.
As livestock farmers we care deeply about the wildlife on our land as well as the animals we farm. Watching this habitat decline year after year when the solution is so simple is incredibly frustrating.”
