FISH: ‘Catch, Photo, Release’ saves Fish – Inland Fisheries Ireland begins Cork based conservation campaign

13 July 2017
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie

Katie McGregor (Age 12 ), Suzanne Campion Head of Business Development, and Matthew Roe (Age 6 ).

‘Catch, Photo, Release’ saves fish according to Inland Fisheries Ireland at the launch of a new campaign in Cork to highlight angling and the importance of conservation. The hashtag #CPRsavesfish has been placed on a couple of high profile bridges in Cork to engage the public around the pursuit of conservation focused angling.

Patrick’s Bridge and Parnell Bridge in Cork City Centre were chosen for placement of the #CPRsavesfish stencil, alongside a number of locations around the country. ‘CPR’ stands for ‘Catch, Photo, Release’ and refers to a method of angling where a fish is caught and subsequently returned unharmed back into the water. This angling technique is proven to contribute to the maintenance of healthy fish stocks and ensures future generations can continue to enjoy the recreational and economic benefits of the fisheries resource.

Inland Fisheries Ireland is supporting catch and release across all types of angling including pike, coarse, salmon and trout fishing as well as sea angling. The method results in positive survival rates for fish when caught using best practise methods. Research carried out by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in 2014 examined the survival of salmon after catch & release fishing in three Irish rivers – the Owenmore in County Mayo, the Mulkear in County Limerick and the Feale in County Kerry. Overall, 92% of the Atlantic salmon recorded after tagging survived post Catch & Release.

The #CPRsavesfish stencils can be found in urban locations in each River Basin District in Ireland including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Letterkenny and Kilkenny. The hashtag stencils, which have been power washed with water onto pavements, are completely environmentally friendly and are expected to fade naturally in the coming weeks.

Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “This awareness campaign in Cork aims to put angling on the general public’s radar by playing on the concept of CPR as a lifesaving mechanism and to engage existing anglers around the practise of catch and release fishing. Catch, Photo, Release (CPR) angling ensures the sustainability of our fisheries resource in the long term with most sporting anglers in Ireland already practicing catch and release to some degree, recognising that it ensures the maintenance of healthy fish stocks and the sustainability of the sport in the long term.

Angling is a pursuit that can be enjoyed at any age or ability and Ireland has a host of top angling destinations right on doorsteps across the country. We are encouraging novice anglers to visit www.fishinginireland.info/cprsavesfish to find out more about how they can try fishing in their local area.”

There are currently 273,600 domestic anglers in Ireland with a further 163,000 international visitors who enjoy fishing here. Angling supports 11,000 jobs nationwide, often in rural and peripheral communities, and contributes €836 million to the Irish economy every year. For more information on Ireland’s fisheries resource, the method of Catch, Photo and Release angling and where to go to try out fishing, visit www.fishinginireland.info/cprsavesfish .