The Loughs Agency has made the decision to retain salmon carcass tag numbers for license holders for the 2022 season in line with the previous year’s policy.

The Agency has introduced the interim policy for the 2020/2021 season that the number of tags issued with a game fishing license has been reduced to a maximum of one blue tag (March 1 to May 31) and two black vignettes (from June 1 to October 31) .

The main objective of this measure is to carefully manage salmon in the Foyle system due to concerns within the Agency about the conservation levels of the species. Based on information collected in 2021, it appears that there were fewer total fish in the Foyle system in 2021 than in 2020, and therefore a precautionary approach had to be taken.

After careful evaluation, it was decided to maintain the previous position while introducing in-year reviews of salmon runs based on fish counter data, annual fishing returns and run strength.

The Loughs Agency undertook a review of the legislation and came to the following conclusion: “Some stakeholders are of the view that the Agency should manage carcass tags on a basin-by-basin basis. Using real-time numbers can be beneficial to inform decision-making on how many tags to distribute per year and how many tags can be distributed for angling in each catchment. This point of view should be taken into account in regulatory changes once the actions resulting from the review can be implemented.

In the majority of rivers in Northern Ireland and in many places around the world, catch and release is now mandatory for salmon angling due to pressures on sustainable populations. In these areas, carcass tags are not issued and anglers are prohibited from retaining fish. It is encouraging that most anglers in the Foyle area are aware of these pressures and are now voluntarily practicing catch and release.

Loughs Agency also recognizes the value of anglers on the rivers and their contributions to sustainability. Taking this into account, the Agency accepted a compromise while respecting the obligations provided for by the Habitats Directive. Salmon are a select feature of the Foyle Rivers which have been designated as Special Areas of Conservation.

In recent years this has led to the suspension of commercial salmon nets, while waters under the jurisdiction of the Loughs Agency have subsequently been declared catch and release only.

If you have any concerns about illegal fishing or pollution in the Foyle or Carlingford Catchments, please contact the Loughs Agency 24 hour response line on +(0)44 2871 342100.