IFI plans will ‘wipe out’ salmon angling on the Moy claims Mayo councillor

Angling tourism on the famous River Moy in north Mayo will be ‘wiped out’ and there will be ‘war on the river’ if Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) go ahead and introduce restrictions on who can fish, it has been claimed.

A recent public meeting of anglers, public representatives and the IFI in Ballina heard that IFI proposed to introduce a brown tag scheme of the River Moy in 2026 whereby 1,044 tags would be distributed through a lottery system.

The brown tag scheme operates as a way of conserving salmon stocks and anglers who receive brown tags via the lottery should place them on a salmon as proof it was lawfully caught and may be retained for private use.

However, the proposals have not been welcomed by anglers in north Mayo who have questioned the need for it to be implemented on the Moy and believe it will be unworkable during the summer months.

The matter was raised at yesterday’s (Monday’s) monthly meeting of Mayo County Council where councillors voiced their support for the anglers and proposed that they make a submission to the IFI outlining their opposition.

‘Dangerous’

Foxford-based councillor Neil Cruise first raised the matter where he described the IFI proposal as ‘dangerous’ and will result in international anglers staying away from the county.

“There isn’t a sinner who is going to come from overseas to north Mayo and to the River Moy this year coming. I am not sure if you are aware of it. There is a public consultation with regards to these proposals and I would encourage people to make sure they make a submission on this because this is going to wipe out angling tourism in our area,” he told the meeting.

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The Fine Gael councillor said the blame for low stocks of salmon should lie at the door of the IFI who he said have made very little effort to manage the river. He described the Moy as one of the most prolific salmon rivers in Europe and believes it is time to support the angling community.

“This is going to wipe out international angling tourism into Co Mayo. Every predator is taken care of but there is nobody protecting the angler of those the angler supports when he is here.

“I am sounding a word of warning that we need to get on this one or we will have a huge hole in angling tourism and tourism in general in the county in the year to come. If this brown tag is introduced it is going to kill off angling and there is going to be war on the rivers. People are not going to put up with this because this is going too far,” he said.

The issue was raised during a presentation of the proposed Mayo County Outdoor Recreation Plan 2025-2030 where fishing was predominately mentioned in the plan.

Cllr Cruise’s proposal was supported by a number of the councillors where many expressed their contempt of how the IFI have approached angling and fishing in the county.

Ballinrobe-based councillor Michael Burke said he believed that the IFI should care as much about the west of Ireland as much as they did about Cork harbour.

Challenge

Cllr Gerry Coyle also told the meeting that he once challenged the chief executive of the IFI over claims made by a fisheries inspector in a local court that 50 percent of stocks in Erris rivers were depleted because of poaching.

“When I asked the chief executive up in the Dáil where did he get those figures from and was it a right statement, he said it was. I said if I had security at my premises and I went down and 50 percent of my stock was gone I would sack them on the spot. Anything the IFI comes up with is possible to take away the fishing rights of these people. We need to make a submission because everything is protected bar the people,” he said.

Ballina-based councillor John O’Hara also called for Mayo County Council to make a submission opposing the IFI proposal as it would damage business in Ballina which is regarded as the Salmon Capital of Ireland.

He said it would be a disgrace if angling is restricted on the Moy and claimed that the seals at the estuary of the river are a bigger danger to salmon stocks.

“There is not a word about them [seals] and can they relocate them. That would be more in line with Inland Fisheries jobs if they went out and relocated them ... I am not saying to do anything with them. Let them take away the seals and take them to some other place because they are the problem.

“That is what is wrong with the River Moy, not the people. They are a source of tourism and they are important. It [angling] is bringing people to north Mayo and if we get rid of them we are finished. We have to take them on as a council and I must congratulate all the councillors here. We have backed it because it is important for Ballina and the whole of north Mayo,” he said.