Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, Timmy Dooley has signed a national bye-law to support the long-term sustainability of pollack stocks in waters around Ireland.
The Pollack Fishing Conservation Bye-Law (No 1028 of 2026) — which comes into effect from 1 June — gives national effect to EU measures relating to recreational pollack fishing, as set out in EU Regulation 2026/249 on Fishing Opportunities.
These measures are being introduced in response to scientific advice from the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which indicates that pollack stocks in the Celtic Seas areas, including waters around Ireland, are at low levels and that catches should be restricted in order to support stock recovery.
This bye-law introduces a daily bag-limit of three pollack per angler. Once this limit is reached, anglers may continue to fish on a catch-and-release basis.
Daily bag limits and catch-and-release are a commonly used fisheries conservation measures, both nationally and internationally, to reduce fishing pressure while continuing to allow recreational angling activity.
Pollack is an important species for recreational angling in Ireland and is a key target species for many sea anglers and charter boat operators.
This sector has demonstrated a strong commitment to conservation and, for many years, have voluntarily practised catch and release angling and supported data collection under the Irish Marine Recreational Fishing Survey (IMREC), managed by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), which is helping to improve scientific understanding of recreational fishing activity.
Signing the bye-law, Minister Dooley said: “The scientific advice shows that pollack stocks are under pressure and that action is required to support recovery and ensure the long-term sustainability of the stock.
“Pollack is an important species for recreational sea angling in Ireland and supports valuable tourism and charter boat activities in many coastal communities.
“I recognise the concerns that have been raised by the sector and I recently met with representatives to hear directly their views on this matter.
“These measures build on the strong conservation ethic already demonstrated by anglers through voluntary catch and release and participation in scientific data collection.”
