In an effort to boost conservation, anglers who wish to keep wild salmon from the Lower River Lee in Cork this year are being advised that brown-tag regulations are coming into force from Wednesday, February 1st.

The measures are included in the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations, recently signed into law by the Minister for the Environment, Eamon Ryan.

Under the regulations, anglers who prefer to “harvest” a wild salmon must attach a brown tag and the standard blue tag to the fish. A total of 180 brown tags will be available for the season and distributed to anglers with a 2023 rod licence through a series of online lotteries.

Up to a quarter of brown tags can be issued at one time; therefore, 45 will be selected through the first online lottery on January 27th, plus 10 reserve licence numbers in case the initial offer is not taken up. Tags will be issued to successful applicants by post and no personal information will be shared.

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Anglers interested in entering the draw need to email their request to CorkLeeBrownTag@fisheriesireland.ie by Wednesday, January 25th. Within this email, anglers must provide their name, address, telephone number and quote 2023 salmon licence number.

Those with a current rod licence and who are not allocated a brown tag can only fish for salmon on a “catch and release” basis, ie where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

The brown tag regulations will remain in place until midnight on September 30th, 2023.

Further details are available at fisheriesireland.ie or by phoning Macroom office on (026) 41221.

Waters and climate

A new series of four public webinars relating to environment monitoring will take place at lunchtime each Monday in January. The second of these is scheduled for Monday, January 16th, at 1pm, and will focus on hydromorphology – its importance in a changing climate.

In this presentation, Rossa O’Briain of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) will describe how the physical character and water content of rivers, lakes and streams are changing. Removing trees along a riverbed, straightening or deepening a channel, abstracting water or putting in artificial barriers can all negatively impact on rivers.

But what do these changes mean for our climate, for fish and other wildlife that depend on these rivers? And which-habitat restoration techniques are proving more sustainable in the longer term? To join this free webinar, register here.

For early birds

The Delphi Club in Abaco, Bahamas, is offering an early bird special of 10 per cent discount on accommodation when you book a five night/four day fishing package from October 28th to November 2nd, 2023. Contact reservations at reservations@delphiclubabaco.com for more information.

If you have an angling story to share, please send to me at angling@irishtimes.com