Inland fisheries Ireland Officers seize boat, illegal net and salmon on the tidal River Suir

Media Release

Inland fisheries Ireland Officers seize boat, illegal net and salmon on the tidal River Suir

 Firearm discharged by offenders during the incident

Tuesday, 18th of August 2020: Inland Fisheries Ireland’s Fisheries Protection Officers seized a boat, net and nine wild salmon on the upper tidal river Suir during the night on Tuesday, 28th of July, near Carrick-on-Suir, encountered during a routine fisheries patrol. A firearm was discharged by the alleged offenders while IFI Officers were responding to this illegal and highly damaging environmental crime. Nobody was injured during the incident. Members of An Garda Síochána attended the scene and the incident is being investigated.

David Mc Inerney, Inland Fisheries Ireland Director, said: “The salmon caught by this illegal net were on the final leg of an arduous journey to reach their native spawning rivers. The fish were fresh in from the sea, having survived a journey from either the coastal waters off west Greenland or the Faroe Island, before being cruelly killed by an illegal net, a few miles from their final destination. It cannot be stressed enough that nobody should purchase wild salmon that does not carry either a green or white gill tag through the mouth and gill clearly displaying the name Inland Fisheries Ireland. I would like to highlight the dedication and courage demonstrated by the officers in tackling illegal fishing in the face of significant personal danger.”

Information may be passed directly to local Inland Fisheries Ireland staff or by phoning IFI’s confidential hotline number to enable members of the public to report incidents of water pollution, illegal fishing and fish kills -1890 34 74 24 1890 FISH 24.

ENDS

For further information:

Sadhbh O’Neill

Communications Assistant

Inland Fisheries Ireland

E: sadhbh.oneill@fisheriesireland.ie

T: 01 8842632/ 087 101 9998

Notes to Editors

About Inland Fisheries Ireland

Inland Fisheries Ireland is a statutory body operating under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) and was established under the Fisheries Act on 1st July 2010. Its principal function is the protection and conservation of the inland fisheries resource. Inland Fisheries Ireland promotes supports, facilitates and advises the Minister on the conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries, including sea angling. Inland Fisheries Ireland also develops policy and national strategies relating to inland fisheries and sea angling and advises the Minister on same.

Tagging regulations only apply to Ireland’s precious wild salmon and sea trout stocks. These stocks are in decline and subject to rigorous management and protection.