Anglers released more than half of all salmon caught in 2022

Irish wild salmon stocks are in significant decline due to a range of man-made factors from pollution to climate change but anglers are playing their part in conservation efforts, a new report from Inland Fisheries Ireland shows.

The Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Statistics Report 2022 revealed a record 54 per cent of wild salmon caught in the Republic were released back into waters last year.

The figures, up slightly in each of the last three years, show the catch-and-release system in Ireland’s rivers and lakes “is becoming the norm”, the fisheries authority says.

Ireland has long been regarded as one of the best salmon angling destinations in Europe and salmon can be caught in Irish waters from January to the end of September. The average value of salmon and sea trout to the economy is estimated to be more than €100 million.

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Overall, there are about 145 principal salmon rivers in the Republic with just five of these – the Moy in Co Mayo, the Blackwater in Co Cork, the Laune in Kerry, the Corrib in Galway and the lower Lee in Co Cork – accounting for 53 per cent of all salmon caught in 2022.

However, while the report found the total number of fish being caught and released was increasing, the overall number of fish being caught by all methods, including commercial fishing and angling, was 26,715 salmon and 2,082 sea trout. This is a reduction of 14 per cent on the total salmon catch recorded in 2021, but an increase of 30 per cent of the total sea trout catch recorded that year.

Barry Fox, head of operations at Inland Fisheries Ireland, said it was “very encouraging to see the year-on-year increase in the catch-and-release of salmon”. He said even in rivers where anglers were not obliged to release salmon and trout they were doing so.

He said wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout “continue to face numerous risks”, including water pollution, illegal fishing and climate change, which has caused a 1 per cent rise in sea temperatures.

In June angling in the Moy Fishery in Ballina, Co Mayo and the Corrib Fishery in Galway city closed temporarily to protect salmon and trout suffering from “thermal stress”.

About one third of Ireland’s 145 main rivers are closed to salmon fishing to preserve stocks. A further one third are “catch and release only” and on about one third an angler may catch a fish and eat it.

However, the number of fish that can be caught and taken away is tightly regulated, with rules often differing from river to river.