The 2024 Salmon Angling Regulations were published today on the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications website. Below is a transcript of their press release and a breakdown of the fisheries that are Open, Catch & Release and Closed is available here.
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
- Conservation and sustainability vital to addressing environmental, climate and biodiversity challenges
The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, has approved legislation that will govern the wild salmon and sea trout fisheries in 2024. These will come into effect from Monday, 1 January 2024.
Minister Ryan said:
“In all, 81 rivers will be available for salmon and sea trout fishing in 2024. This facilitates careful management of this important natural resource, for which conservation and sustainability are paramount. Of these rivers, 42 will be open, with a further 39 open to ‘catch and release’ angling. The general improvements in stocks from 2023 have been maintained for 2024. However, collective effort and persistence are required to see the state of all individual river stocks improve over time. The stocks themselves are completely dependent on everybody increasing our efforts in facing up to environmental, climate and biodiversity impacts from human interventions.”
To support the legislation for 2024, Minister Ryan received management advice from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) in relation to over 140 genetically individual wild salmon stocks in Ireland, which was based on individual scientific assessments. The assessments are carried out every year by the Technical Expert Group on Salmon (TEGOS) – an all-island independent scientific group comprising experts from a range of bodies. IFI, supported by TEGOS, determined: which of the individual stocks were sufficiently above their specific conservation limit to be open to fishing; which rivers did not meet a sufficient level above the limit but met a sufficient percentage of the limit to be classified for ‘catch and release’ angling; and which rivers were so far below the limit as to close them to any exploitation.
The conservation limit is the number of adult spawning fish required to maintain a healthy and sustainable stock in each individual river. The key issue to support increased stocks is improvement in water quality. Many of our rivers are not at a sufficiently high-water quality level to support sustainable stocks, often caused by agricultural activities, and to a lesser extent, insufficient treatment of waste water. This year’s advice was also made available as part of a statutory public consultation process during which written submissions from stakeholders (including the recreational and commercial fishing and the environmental sectors) were sought on the draft regulations.
Management advice based on the TEGOS assessment of rivers/estuaries/harbours is that:
- 42 rivers are to be open as a sustainable surplus has been identified in these rivers
- 39 rivers are to be classified as open for ‘catch and release’ angling
- 66 rivers are to be closed as they have no sustainable surplus available
Minister Ryan added:
“Ireland has long been internationally recognised for embedding the conservation imperative as a vital component of our management of the precious salmon resource. While the policy has served us well for more than a decade, I intend, as part of a broader inland fisheries policy review to set out options for improvement, with an even greater focus on conservation, in our management regime and for modernising licensing requirements, to ensure access to the resource where its conservation and biodiversity needs are met.”
ENDS
The Minister at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has made the following Regulation and Bye-laws:
These regulations provide for the quotas of fish that can be harvested by commercial fishing engines and rod and line from those rivers identified in Schedule 2 of the Regulations. The Regulations also provide for the use of brown tags in specified rivers which are identified in Schedule 4.
This Bye-law prohibits the use of any fishhooks, other than single or double barbless hooks, and also prohibits the use of worms as bait in angling for all species of fish in the waters specified in the Bye-law.
This Bye-law provides for an annual bag limit of 10 fish being either salmon or sea trout (over 40cm) per angler and provides for a season bag limit of 3 fish in the period 1 January to 11 May, a daily bag limit of 3 fish from 12 May to 31 August and a daily bag limit of 1 fish from 1 September to the end of the season. The Bye-law also provides for the use of single or double barbless hooks and prohibits the use of worms as bait once the specified numbers of fish have been caught in the specified periods.
This Bye-law provides for catch and release in respect of salmon and sea trout (over 40cm) in rivers as mentioned in the Bye-law. The Bye-law also provides for the use of single or double barbless hooks and prohibits the use of worms as bait in angling for salmon and sea trout over 40cm.
This Bye-law provides for catch and release in angling for salmon (any size) and sea trout (over 40cm) in the River Suir (including the waters of the Rivers Clodiagh, Lingaun and Blackwater) and also prohibits the use of worms, prawn, shrimp or any other crustacean, or artificial forms thereof, as bait and any fish hooks other than single or double barbless hooks during the period 17 March to 30 September.
This Bye-law provides for a daily bag limit of 3 sea trout (less than 40cm in length) and provides for the use of single or double barbless hooks and prohibits the use of worms as bait once the specified number of sea trout has been caught.
This Bye-law prohibits the taking or attempting to take by rod and line salmon and sea trout (over 40cm) in the rivers specified in the Bye-law.
Footnote
Section 57 (7) of the Inland Fisheries Act 2010 provides that any person aggrieved by these bye-laws may, within 28 days after publication in the Iris Oifigiúil, appeal against same to the High Court.
