Fisheries legislation in relation to game fish, ROI, DCAL & Loughs Agency

1. Mark.H.V.Corps
IFI Angling Advisor
Marine & Countryside Guiding
FETAC Level 6

3. • Fishery organisations
• Seasons
• Size limits
• Salmon / sea trout license
• Permits
• Tags – both blue & brown tags
• Log books
• Catch & Release – kelts, fresh fish
• Sea trout = salmon > 40cm Tags

4. • Brown trout - permits and landowners
permission
• Shannon – areas special licenses
• Pike bye laws
• Bass bye laws
• Pollution & environmental laws / litter
• Life jackets bye laws
• DCAL – Game Licenses and permits
• Loughs Agency

6. • The first Irish Fisheries acts go back to
1842, 1848, 1863
• Originally there were 23 Fisheries
Districts & Boards of Conservators
• 1966 the Boards of Conservators in
Northern Ireland were replaced by the
Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) of
NI

7. • 1980 Boards of Conservators in Ireland
& Inland Fisheries Trust replaced by the
Central Fisheries Board & 7 Regional
Fisheries Boards
Eastern RFB
North Western RFB
Shannon RFB
South Eastern RFB
South Western RFB
Western RFB

9. The Central Fisheries Board
• Statutory body with responsibility for inland fisheries
& sea angling
• Under the aegis of the Dept of Communications,
Energy & Natural Resources
• Established under the Fisheries Act 1980
• Function to advise the Minister for Communications,
Energy & Natural Resources on policy relating to the
conservation, protection, management, development
& improvement of inland fisheries & sea angling, to
support, coordinate & provide specialist support
services to the RFB’s and to advise the Minister on
the performance by the RFB’s of their functions

10. • The RFB’s were responsible for
conserving, protecting, developing,
managing & promoting Ireland’s inland
fisheries (including sea angling)
• CFB Technical Services dealt with trout,
salmon, sea trout & coarse fish, as well
as marine sport fish & water quality

12. Inland Fisheries Ireland
• Formed on July 1, 2010
• Amalgamation of the CFB & the RFB’s into a
single agency
• Responsible for the protection, management
& conservation of the inland fisheries resource
across the country
• Ireland has over 70,000 kilometers of rivers &
streams with144,000 hectares of loughs all
under the jurisdiction of IFI. agency also
responsible for sea angling in Ireland

13. Irish Specimen Fish committee
• Register of all records & specimen
fish for all of Ireland.
• Main legislation in the ROI, 1980
Fisheries Act & amendments
• State licence only required for
salmon & sea trout

15. General advise
• The only legal method to catch freshwater
fish is by rod and line (Control of Fishing for
Coarse Fish in Fresh Water Bye-law No. 595,
1977)
• A person may fish with not more than two
rods at any time (Control of Fishing for
Coarse Fish in Fresh Water Bye-law No. 595,
1977)
• It is illegal to have or to use live fish as bait
(Use of Live Fish as Bait in Fresh Water Bye-
law No. 592, 1977)

17. • Prohibition of certain methods - bye-law
prohibits the use of hooks, other than single
barbless, use of worms, prawn or shrimp as
bait in angling for all species of fish in specified
waters. List of waters this bye law applies to is
available at Angling Bye – Law No.
888,2011ANGLING BYE-LAW NO. 888

18. Salmon Licence Fees (2012)
• All Districts Annual: €100
• Juvenile (<18 yrs) All Districts Annual: €10
• One District, Annual: €56
• All districts, 21 Days: €40
• All districts, 1 Day: €20
• Foyle Area Extension: €80
• Special local licence: €24
• Foyle Area Extension Licence

19. • Special Local Licence – a salmon angling
fishing licence to fish special tidal waters as
follows;
Erne - Ballyshannon
• Permits – a licence does not confer the right
to fish; a fishing permit is usually required and
must be obtained separately.

21. Salmon Angling Regulations
• The wild salmon & sea trout tagging scheme
regulates salmon & sea trout fishing in Ireland,
administered by IFI
• Salmon rod licence holders must affix a gill
tag to all retained salmon (any size), or sea
trout (> 40 cm)
• Restrictions prohibiting the use of worms,
prawn & shrimp as bait in angling for all other
fish species in certain closed & C&R
rivers. Anglers may only use single barbless
hooks where these restrictions apply.
ANGLING BYE-LAW NO. 897, 2012 (18.42
kB), 2011

22.
BAG LIMITS
• Season limit 10 salmon or sea trout (over 40
cm). Limits subject to quotas allocated to a
river
• 1 salmon or sea trout (over 40cm) per day
between Jan 1st - May 11th (3 in total retained
for this period)
• Daily bag limit - 3 salmon or sea trout (over
40cm) per day from May 12th - Aug 31st (except
with a 1 day ordinary salmon rod licence, 1
fish)

23. • 1 salmon or sea trout (over 40cm) per day
from 1st September to the close of the season
• There is an angling bag limit of three sea trout
(under 40cm) per angler per day (bye-law no.
887, 2011)
• After the daily bag limit has been taken,
anglers can fish C&R, using single, barbless
hooks. Anglers may not use worms

24. • An offence to kill any sea trout in the Galway,
Connemara or Ballinakill Fisheries Districts
including at sea from Hags Head in County
Clare to Clew Bay (& in any waters flowing
into Clew Bay) in the Bangor Fishery District
south of a line drawn due east & west through
Achill Head
• Killing & possession of foul hooked fish is
prohibited (a foul hooked fish is any fish not
hooked in the mouth)

26. Catch & release
• Anglers may not use worms & single, barbless
hooks
• Handle fish carefully, keep fish in the water
• Slaney provides for C&R using single barbless
hook from 17th March - 30th Sept with fly only
upstream of the old bridge, Enniscorthy &
prohibits the use of worms, prawn & shrimp
downstream of the old bridge, Enniscorthy.
(bye-law no. 893, 2011)
• Blackwater season extended from 1st - 12th Oct
on a C&R basis, fly only (bye-law no. 310, 2011)

27. • Suir C&R up to 11th May. Open from 12th May
with bag limit of 1 fish per day, max 3 fish for
the season (bye-law no. 889, 2011)
• Avoca prohibits taking sea trout (<40cm),
prohibits worms & hooks other than single
barbless hooks for sea trout (under 40cm)
(bye-law no. 890, 2011)
• Nore C&R to 11th May & is open for angling
from 12th May

28. Fisheries Conservation
Board
• Established 1966 with responsibility of the
conservation & protection of the salmon &
inland fisheries of NI
• FCB functions included issuing of fishing
licenses, enforcement of regulations &
byelaws.
• Assisting in the investigation of pollution
incidents which involve fish kills.

29. Department of Culture,
Arts & Leisure
• All of the functions were transferred to DCAL
1st June 2009
• DCAL responsible, under the provisions of the
Fisheries Act (NI) 1966, for salmon & inland
fisheries of NI.
• To provide advice / guidance on conservation,
protection, development & improvement of
salmon & inland fisheries to angling clubs,
fishery owners & other water users /
interested parties.

30. Salmon tags
• All recreational salmon catches must be
tagged & recorded in a logbook. All salmon &
sea trout over 50 cm
• Anglers required to record catch on a daily
basis (before midnight of each day) in the
logbook

31. Salmon / wild brown trout
seasons vary
• Foyle catchment salmon season operates 1st
Apr - 20th Oct
• Carlingford catchment season is 1st Apr - 31st
Oct
• Bann catchment / Co Antrim rivers season 1st
March – 31st Oct (except the River Bush
season ends 21st Oct)
• Erne catchment season is 1st March – 30th Sept
except for Lough Melvin (1st Feb – 30th Sept)

33. Bag limits
• C&R operates (except for Lough Melvin)
for salmon from 1st March - 31st May.
limit of 2 applies thereafter.
• Lough Melvin 1 salmon may be retained
from 1st Feb to 31st May. 3 from 1st June –
30th Sept.

34. The Loughs Agency
• Agency of the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish
Lights Commission (FCILC),
• Established a cross-border bodies established
under the 1998 Agreement between the U K
& ROI
• Agency aims to provide sustainable social,
economic & environmental benefits through
effective conservation, management,
promotion & development of the fisheries &
marine resources of the Foyle and Carlingford
Areas.

35. Bag limits / catch
• 4 brown trout or sea trout (< 40cm) may be taken on
any one day
• From the opening day to 31st May, 1 salmon or sea
Trout (> 40cm) on any day to a total of 5 during this
period
• 1st June to the end of season, 2 salmon or sea trout (>
40cm) on any day to a total of 20 may be retained
• All salmon and sea trout over 50 cms retained must
be tagged.

36. IFI – wild brown trout regs for
Corrib catchment
• 4 trout per angler per day
• Bag limit may include 1 trout over 10 lbs per day
• Anglers may only retain trout over 13 in, trout under
this size must be released
• Cannot use more than 1 rod when fly fishing or
dapping with no more than 4 flies
• Cannot use more than 2 rods when bait fishing,
spinning or trolling
• A maximum of 3 rods when bait fishing, spinning or
trolling in a boat by 2 or more anglers

39. Pike bye law no. 809 (2006)
• A bag limit of 1 pike per day
• Prohibits killing any pike greater than 50 cm
• Prohibits the possession of more than 1 whole pike
< 50 cm or > 0.75 kg of pike flesh
• Prohibits the possession of more than 12 coarse fish
for use as bait

40. Bass
• Bass Fishing Conservation S.I. NO. 826, 2007
2 bass bag limit in any 24 hr period
Ban on angling for bass during the spawning
season (15th May - 15th June)
• Bass (Restriction on Sale) Order S.I. No. 367,
2007
Prohibits sale / offer for sale of bass (other
than bass which has been imported into the
State) from 1st July - 30th June