‘Brown Tags’ conservation regulations to come into force for Salmon Anglers in Kerry
To boost conservation efforts, anglers who wish to catch and keep wild salmon from the Waterville catchment in 2022, are being advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland that ‘brown tag’ regulations are coming into force from Monday, January 17th 2022.
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, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, T.D.
Under brown tag regulations, an angler who wishes to ‘harvest’ a wild salmon and 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 Waterville catchment, a total of 64 brown tags will be available for the season and will be distributed to anglers with a 2022 rod licence through a lottery system.
Three draws are set to take place in 2022 and these will be held on January 10th (to allocate 24 brown tags), February 28th (to allocate 20 brown tags) and finally on March 28th (to allocate the remaining 20 brown tags). 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 in the Waterville catchment, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.
Any anglers that are interested in entering the January draw are being asked to email their request to Inland Fisheries Ireland at watervillebrowntag2022@fisheriesireland.ie between January 1st and January 7th 2022, providing their contact details and quoting their 2022 Salmon Licence number.
Further details are available from the Inland Fisheries Ireland’s website at www.fisheriesireland.ie or by phoning its Macroom office on (026) 41221.
The brown tag regulations come into force on the Waterville catchment from January 17th and will remain in place until midnight on May 12th 2022.
