Proposals for the management of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Salmon from 2027

Ireland’s wild Atlantic salmon stocks are in serious decline. The number of salmon returning to Irish rivers has fallen significantly over recent decades and an increasing number of individual river stocks are failing to achieve the levels required to support harvest. This decline reflects a combination of pressures across the salmon lifecycle and forms part of a wider deterioration of salmon stocks internationally.

The continuing decline means that maintaining existing management arrangements without considering further action carries a risk of further deterioration and the loss of future fishing opportunities. While there is no single measure capable of reversing this trend, there is a need to take reasonable action to protect returning salmon, strengthen the resilience of individual river stocks and support their longer-term recovery.

This requires both more precautionary management of those pressures that can be directly influenced through fisheries management and longer-term action to address wider pressures affecting salmon and their habitats.

At the request of the Minister of State for Fisheries and the Marine, Timmy Dooley TD, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) undertook a review of Ireland’s Salmon Management Framework to assess whether the existing framework remains fit for purpose and to identify options to address the continuing decline in salmon stocks.

IFI’s review assesses the effectiveness of the existing framework against international best practice and identifies the principal factors contributing to the decline of salmon stocks. The review found that the existing science-based, river-by-river management framework remains appropriate as a basis for managing salmon fisheries but identified a need for a more precautionary approach and a stronger focus on the protection and recovery of salmon stocks.

The review identifies a range of potential measures to strengthen the management and protection of wild Atlantic salmon. These have informed the proposals and wider issues on which your views are being sought through this public consultation.

The Department proposes a phased approach which recognises that action is required both within the salmon management framework and on the wider pressures affecting salmon.

In the short-term, the Department is considering a number of changes which could be introduced from the 2027 season. These measures focus on pressures that can be directly managed through the existing fisheries management framework and are intended to provide a more precautionary approach to the harvesting of salmon and to protect a greater proportion of returning fish.

The Department recognises that recreational anglers and commercial fishers are not the sole or the main cause of the decline in salmon stocks. The proposed measures should therefore not be interpreted as placing responsibility for salmon recovery on those who participate in salmon fisheries. Rather, they reflect the principle that reasonable action should be taken to address the pressures which can be influenced directly, while wider pressures are also addressed.

No decisions have been taken on the measures set out in this consultation. The measures may be introduced individually or in combination and responses to this consultation will inform the Minister’s consideration of any measures introduced from the 2027 season.

More precautionary management of salmon fisheries will not, on its own, reverse the decline in salmon stocks. Longer-term recovery will require action on wider pressures affecting salmon and their habitats, many of which extend beyond the fisheries management system and require coordination action across Government, State Agencies and other sectors.

The Department therefore intends to undertake further work with IFI and other bodies to identify opportunities to strengthen the longer-term protection and recovery of wild salmon. This may include consideration of habitat protection and restoration, water quality, barriers to migration and river connectivity, monitoring and scientific assessment, enforcement and compliance and other pressures affecting salmon survival.

This consultation is also seeking views on the priorities and actions that should inform this longer-term work. Any future actions will require further consideration including feasibility, responsibilities, resources and funding.

Each year scientists assess whether enough salmon are expected to return to each river to maintain its salmon stock. This minimum number is known as the Conservation Limit.

Because the number of salmon returning cannot be predicted with certainty, the assessment considers how confident the scientists are that Conservation Limit will be achieved. At present, a river stock may be considered for harvest where there is at least a 75% probability that its Conservation Limit will be met with quotas set according to the number of surplus fish available for sustainable harvest above the Conservation Limit.

It is proposed to increase this threshold to 85%. This would mean requiring a greater confidence that enough salmon will return to a river before allowing salmon to be harvested.

This would provide greater protection for stocks but could also mean that some rivers which are currently open for harvest would instead be open for catch-and-release only or closed to salmon fishing. In addition, in rivers open for harvest, the recommended harvest quotas will be lower than those under the 75% threshold as greater confidence is required that the Conservation Limit will be met.

Proposal A

Increase the probability threshold used in annual stock assessments from 75% to 85%

The Conservation Limit is the minimum number of returning salmon needed to maintain the productive capacity of a river’s salmon stock. At present, decisions on whether harvesting can take place are based on whether a river is expected to meet this level.

It is proposed to introduce an additional management target above the Conservation Limit. For example, a target of 110% would mean seeking to have 10% more salmon than the Conservation Limit before identifying any salmon as potentially available for harvest.

This would provide an additional buffer to protect stocks. It could also mean that some rivers which currently qualify for harvest would no longer do so, or that fewer salmon could be harvested from rivers that remain open.

Proposal B

Introduce a management target of 110% of the Conservation Limit

Catch-and-release allows recreational salmon angling to take place without removal of salmon from a river. Under the current system, some rivers which do not have a harvestable surplus are open for catch-and-release angling, while other rivers are closed to all angling.

Extending catch-and-release to rivers which would otherwise be closed could provide additional angling opportunities without permitting the harvest of salmon.

Catch-and-release is not, however, entirely without impact. Catching, handling and releasing fish can cause stress, injury or mortality and these risks can be increased by factors such as fishing methods, handling practices and environmental conditions.

Proposal C

Allow catch-and-release angling on rivers which would otherwise be closed to angling

Seasonal restrictions provide a means to set fishing and harvesting permissions at different times of the season and provide a targeted means of protecting salmon during sensitive periods. These restrictions reduce fishing pressure at particular periods, protecting vulnerable components of the stock and allowing a greater proportion of returning salmon to reach their spawning grounds.

Restricting the harvest season would provide additional protection for fish returning outside the summer harvest period (notably spring salmon). It would allow a greater proportion of early and late-running salmon to contribute to spawning, while retaining an opportunity for sustainable harvest during the summer months (Proposal D).

Spring salmon are fish which return to freshwater earlier in the year, generally having spent two or more winters at sea. They represent an important component of Ireland’s salmon stocks and have experienced a significant decline. Closing the spring period to all salmon angling, including catch-and-release (Proposal E), would therefore provide a precautionary approach by removing all fishing-related pressure on spring salmon during this period.

Proposal D

Restrict the period during which salmon may be harvested to 1st June – 31st August

Proposal E

Close the spring period to all angling, including catch-and-release (i.e. no salmon angling before 1st June)

Bag limits are used to control the number of salmon that an individual angler may retain during a fishing season. They provide a means of reducing the overall level of recreational harvest while continuing to allow anglers to fish and, once that limit has been reached, to continue fishing on a catch-and-release basis.

Reducing the bag limit would provide a more precautionary approach to recreational exploitation by reducing the maximum number of salmon that an individual angler may harvest, while retaining the opportunity on rivers with a harvestable surplus.

A daily bag limit complements the seasonal limit by restricting the number of salmon that may be retained on any individual day. This would prevent an angler’s seasonal allowance being taken over a very short period and spread the permitted harvest across the season.

Proposal F

Reduce current bag limit from seven to three

Proposal G

Introduce a daily bag limit of one

Larger salmon, which can include multi-sea-winter fish, are an important component of salmon stocks. These salmon mainly return to rivers as spring salmon but can also return through the rest of year interspersed with the relatively smaller-sized one-sea-winter grilse stocks. Larger female salmon generally produce more eggs and make a particularly significant contribution to spawning.

A maximum size limit is being proposed to provide targeted protection for larger salmon by requiring fish above a specified length to be released rather than harvested. This would provide a more precautionary approach to the harvesting of salmon and allow a greater proportion of larger fish to contribute to spawning.

Proposal H

Prohibit the retention of salmon over 70cm

The sustainable management of wild salmon fisheries depends on robust and reliable information on the status of individual stocks set within a precautionary advice framework which also accounts for uncertainties where such information is limited. Ireland’s annual salmon management process draws on a range of data and monitoring methods to assess salmon returns and determine the status of individual rivers.

The Review found that the existing scientific framework remains appropriate but could benefit from strengthened monitoring and data collection and it also highlights the importance of ensuring that the scientific assessment process and resulting advice are clearly communicated and understood by stakeholders.

Ireland’s current Salmon Management Framework is based on the principle that harvest may be permitted where the scientific assessment indicates that a river has a sufficient surplus above the level required to support the stock. The measures proposed for 2027, if implemented, will retain this approach, while applying it on a more precautionary basis.

In the context of continuing decline in wild salmon stocks, a more ambitious policy option would be to move away from harvesting towards a no harvest approach. Under such an approach, salmon angling could continue on a catch-and-release basis where appropriate, but salmon could not be retained at any time.

This would represent a significant change to the existing framework and the Department recognise that this would have implications for both recreational anglers and commercial fishers and for the communities and businesses associated with them.

Reducing the harvesting of salmon can protect a greater proportion of returning salmon but fisheries alone cannot address the decline in salmon stocks. Salmon recovery requires action across the entire lifecycle of the species and a wider programme of work is also required.