28 July 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Conservation regulations “still in force” until season closes
To boost conservation efforts, anglers who wish to catch and keep wild salmon from the Lower River Lee this year are being reminded by Inland Fisheries Ireland that ‘brown tag’ regulations are still in force until the season closes on 30th September 2022.
Details for the final online draw in 2022 for ‘brown tags’ have just been announced by Inland Fisheries Ireland. This draw is scheduled to place on Monday, August 8th and the deadline for entering is 5pm on Thursday, August 4th.
The measures are included in the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations, signed into law by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, T.D.
Under brown tag regulations, an angler who wishes to ‘harvest’ a wild salmon, i.e. to take or keep it, must attach a brown tag as well as a standard blue tag to the fish. To help conserve stocks of wild salmon within the Lower River Lee, No. 5 or Cork District, 152 brown tags are available for the season and are being distributed to anglers with a valid 2022 rod licence through a series of four online draws.
Up to a quarter of the available number of brown tags can be issued at any one time, under the Wild Salmon and Seatrout Tagging Scheme Regulations. As a result, a batch of 38 tags was issued to anglers in January, another batch was issued in April and a third batch in June. For the fourth and final draw taking place on Monday 8th August, the final batch of 38 tags for the 2022 Angling Season will be issued.
How to apply
Any anglers that are interested in entering the draw are being asked to fill out the form online through the following link: https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/final-2022-online-draw-for-brown-tags-on-lower-river-lee-in-cork, which closes at 5pm on Thursday, 4th August 2022.
Anglers with a 2022 rod licence who are not allocated a brown tag are only permitted to fish for salmon on a ‘catch and release’ basis on the Lower River Lee.
Further details are available from the Inland Fisheries Ireland’s website at www.fisheriesireland.ie, by telephoning the Macroom office on (026) 41221or by emailing 2022corkleebrowntag@fisheriesireland.ie.
Inland Fisheries Ireland, the state agency responsible for the protection, conservation, development and promotion of inland fisheries and sea angling. File photo shows Fisheries Officers (From Left) José Peréz, Maureen Byrne, Andrew Crosbie and Christine Meehan. Photocredit: Peter Grogan, Emagine