Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has opened the final draw of 2023 for anglers who wish to catch and keep wild salmon and sea trout greater than 40cm from the Lower River Lee in Cork this year.

A further 45 brown tags are being allocated on Monday 24 July, following the first lottery for 45 tags in January, the second for 40 tags in March and the third for 45 tags in May. A total of 180 brown tags are being made available for the season via this series of online lotteries.

The pool system allocates brown tags to anglers who are successful in the lottery system. The tags must be placed on harvested fish along with a blue tag as proof it was lawfully caught and may be retained for private use.

These essential identification rules for salmon angling are in force until the season closes on 30 September 2023.

Commenting on the requirements, Sean Long, director of the Southwest River Basin District at IFI said: “Brown tag regulations for salmon and sea trout are required on the Lower River Lee in Cork to conserve stocks and avoid accidental over-harvesting.

“Where there is a modest harvestable surplus with a risk of over exploitation, this brown gill tag system is introduced to closely monitor the angling quotas.

“The numbers of wild Atlantic salmon returning to our rivers is declining and the risk of over-fishing puts stocks in further jeopardy. Conservation measures such as brown tags are necessary and very effective.”

Three quarters of the available 180 tags have been issued to anglers with a valid 2023 rod licence. Any anglers that are interested in entering the final draw are being asked to apply before the closing date of 5pm on Thursday 20 July.

Anglers with a 2023 rod licence who are not allocated a brown tag are only permitted to fish for salmon and sea trout greater than 40cm on a catch-and-release basis on the Lower River Lee, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

The deadline to enter the third online lottery for ‘brown tags’ for wild salmon angling on the Lower River Lee is 5pm on Thursday 18 May.

A further 45 brown tags are being allocated on Monday 22 May, following the first lottery for 45 tags in January and the second for 40 tags in March. A total of 180 brown tags are being made available for the season via a series of online lotteries.

Under brown tag regulations, an angler who wishes to ‘harvest’ a wild salmon or sea trout greater than 40cm and keep it must attach a brown tag as well as a standard blue tag to the fish.

These essential identification rules for salmon angling are in force until the 2023 season closes on 30 September.

Anglers with a 2023 rod licence not allocated a brown tag are only permitted to fish for salmon and sea trout greater than 40cm on a ‘catch and release’ basis on the Lower River Lee, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

Commenting on the requirements, Sean Long, director of the South West River Basin District at Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) said: “Brown tag regulations for salmon and sea trout are required on the Lower River Lee in Cork to conserve stocks and avoid accidental over-harvesting.

“Where there is a modest harvestable surplus with a risk of over exploitation, this brown gill tag system is introduced to closely monitor the angling quotas.

“The numbers of wild Atlantic salmon returning to our rivers is declining and the risk of over-fishing puts stocks in further jeopardy. Conservation measures such as brown tags are necessary and very effective.”

Anglers interested in entering the second draw are being asked to apply online between now and 5pm on Monday 20 March only. For more see the IFI website.

The deadline to enter the second online lottery for ‘brown tags’ for wild salmon angling on the Lower River Lee is 5pm on Monday 20 March.

A further 40 brown tags will be issued on Wednesday 22 March, following the first lottery for 45 tags on 27 January, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

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 Lower River Lee, No 5 or Cork District, a total of 180 brown tags will be available for the season — which closes on 30 September — and will be distributed to anglers with a 2023 rod licence through a series of online lotteries.

Anglers interested in entering the second draw are being asked to apply online between now and 5pm on Monday 20 March only.

Applicants must provide their name, contact address and telephone number and they must also quote their 2023 Salmon Licence number. Only one entry is permitted per licence holder into the draw.

Anglers with a 2023 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, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

Further details are available from the Inland Fisheries Ireland website at fisheriesireland.ie or by phoning its Macroom office on (026) 41221.

To boost conservation efforts, anglers who wish to catch and keep wild salmon from Cork’s Lower River Lee in Cork in 2023 are advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland that ‘brown tag’ regulations are coming into force from Wednesday 1 February.

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 TD.

Under brown tag regulations, an angler who wishes to ‘harvest’ a wild salmon (ie 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, a total of 180 brown tags — 28 more than that issued in 2022 — will be available for the season and will be distributed to anglers with a 2023 rod licence through a series of online lotteries.

Up to a quarter of the available number of brown tags can be issued at one time, under the Wild Salmon and Seatrout Tagging Scheme Regulations. Therefore, 45 brown tags will be selected through the first online lottery on Friday 27 January.

Any anglers interested in entering the first draw are invited to email their request to Inland Fisheries Ireland at [email protected] from Wednesday 11 until Wednesday 25 January. Within this email, anglers must provide their name, contact address, contact telephone number and they must also quote their 2023 Salmon Licence number.

Anglers with a 2023 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, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

Further details are available from Inland Fisheries Ireland’s website or by phoning its Macroom office on (026) 41221.

The brown tag regulations come into force on the Lower River Lee in Cork from 1 February and will remain in place until midnight on 30 September.

The deadline to enter the third online lottery for ‘brown tags’ for wild salmon angling on the Lower River Lee is 5pm on Thursday 9 June.

A further 38 brown tags will be issued on Monday 13 June by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), following the second lottery for 38 tags on 11 April, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

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 Lower River Lee, No 5 or Cork District, a total of 152 brown tags are available for the season and have been distributed to anglers with a 2022 rod licence through a series of online lotteries since January.

Anglers interested in entering the third draw are being asked to apply online between now and 5pm on Thursday 9 June. Only one entry is permitted per licence holder into the draw. Entries will not be accepted by email in this draw.

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, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

In addition, anglers who received a tag in either of the previous draws may enter this draw only if they have used that tag. Anglers must be able to provide evidence of using the tag by supplying a photo of the double tagged salmon and the relevant entry in their angler’s logbook.

Further details and conditions are available from the IFI website, by phoning its Macroom office on (026) 41221 or emailing [email protected].

The deadline to enter the second online lottery for ‘brown tags’ for wild salmon angling on the Lower River Lee is midnight on Friday 8 April.

A further 38 brown tags will be issued on Monday 11 April, following the first lottery for 38 tags on 31 January, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

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 Lower River Lee, No 5 or Cork District, a total of 152 brown tags will be available for the season and will be distributed to anglers with a 2022 rod licence through a series of online lotteries.

Anglers interested in entering the second draw are being asked to email their request to Inland Fisheries Ireland at [email protected] between now and midnight on Friday 8 April only.

Within this email, anglers must provide their name, contact address and telephone number and they must also quote their 2022 Salmon Licence number. Only one entry is permitted per licence holder into the draw.

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, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

Further details are available from the Inland Fisheries Ireland’s website or by phoning its Macroom office on (026) 41221.

Following the introduction of ‘brown tag’ regulations to boost conservation efforts in Kerry’s Waterville catchment, anglers of wild salmon on the Lower River Lee in Cork are advised that similar rules will come into force from Tuesday 1 February.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, 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 Lower River Lee, No 5 or Cork District, a total of 152 brown tags will be available for the season and will be distributed to anglers with a 2022 rod licence through a series of online lotteries.

Up to a quarter of the available number of brown tags can be issued at one time, under the Wild Salmon and Seatrout Tagging Scheme Regulations. Therefore, 38 brown tags will be selected through the first online lottery on Monday 31 January.

Any anglers that are interested in entering the first draw are being asked to email their request to Inland Fisheries Ireland at [email protected] between now and next Friday 28 January only.

Within this email, anglers must provide their name, contact address and telephone number and they must also quote their 2022 Salmon Licence number. Only one entry is permitted per licence holder into the draw.

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, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.

Further details are available from the Inland Fisheries Ireland’s website or by phoning its Macroom office on (026) 41221.

The brown tag regulations come into force on the Lower River Lee in Cork from 1 February and will remain in place until midnight on 30 September 2022.

Plans for a new light rail bridge across the River Lee in Cork city centre have sparked concerns that the project would prevent any passage of vessels and “sterilise the city forever for future generations”.

The Echo reported last week on the multi-billion-euro transport plan for Cork that includes a light rail system similar to the Luas in Dublin, with a 25-stop route that could cross the city via a new bridge at Kent Station to the South Docklands.

This is the proposal that has raised the ire of Michael McCarthy, chairman of cruising industry network Cruise Europe, who fears the bridge would cut off the city from its maritime heritage.

McCarthy cites the pontoon by the coffee pods on Lapps Quay — “nothing but a few small rowing boats” — as an example of what could happen to the city without free access for vessels of all sizes.

And he argues that some councillors and officials who will be responsible for considering these plans have “no feel or empathy for the maritime or the marine”.

“The river made Cork City what it is today and now they are intent on sterilising it for ever when there is a very viable alternative,” he adds — suggesting that the light rail system could instead follow the old Cork-Blackrock-Passage-Crosshaven line using the existing bridges from Kent Station to City Hall.

Cork City councillors were briefed last week by the National Transport Authority on the plans, which form part of the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS).

Next month a specialist team will be commissioned to analyse all route options for the scheme, which is expected to cost €1 billion in total. The Echo has more on the story HERE.

#ferries - Owners of the River Lee car ferry service in Cork harbour, the Irish Examiner reports, have told Cork County Council they don't believe it's economically viable to put on a second ferry at peak evening times.

Doyle Shipping Group (also operators of Cross River Ferries) contacted Paraic Lynch, municipal officer for the Cobh/Glanmire Municipal District Council, to tell him the news after a number of councillors petitioned the company to beef up their service from Glenbrook, on the Passage West side to Carrigaloe, on the Cobh side.

Councillors living in the Cobh area are particularly concerned about the length of time it is taking people to get across the harbour from the Glenbrook side during the evening rush-hour period.

Mr Lynch told the councillors that Doyle Shipping had contacted him to say they didn't see it as viable to operate two ferries at that time. However, he added that the company says it will continue to monitor the situation, especially when major work gets underway on the €100m upgrade of the Jack Lynch Tunnel/Dunkettle interchange later this year.

Councillors are particularly concerned about that as they believe it will drive more motorists to use the cross-river ferry to avoid delays at the northern side of the tunnel as the upgrade works get underway.

For further comments by councillors following the decision announced by the shipping group click here.

Dear Editor,

I moved to Inchigeelagh, Co Cork last October. My first Summer here is being filled with admiring all of the beautiful scenery.

I've got a bug about sailing in the local lake that just won't go away, I'm sure you understand! :)

The trouble is that I've no idea about how to go about it, where to enquire, what kind of boat I'd be allowed to take out, what size engine is allowed etc.

It's not for fishing, just to go sail in circles with the kids on a nice day and perhaps sleep on board for the night before going back home after a day or two.

Please tell me it's allowed and easy to go about?

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Thanking You,

Con

Afloat.ie replies: The lovely Lough Allua on the upper River Lee above Inchigeelagh has been enlarged by the Hydro-electric dam at Carrigadrohid to provide an impressive lake which is renowned for its angling (pike fishing especially), and it is also used by kayakers - both for the pleasures of the lake itself, and as part of the transit of the River Lee from source to sea.

However, the presence of old tree stumps hidden just below the surface – often a hazard when water-levels have been raised – may make sailing hazardous in some locations. We suggest that Con contact Eddie English of SailCork, who would know of any sailing enthusiasts in the neighbourhood – [email protected]