Moy anglers attend Oireachtas hearing over planned limits

A group of anglers brought their concerns over the methodology used by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) to implement conservation limits on salmon on the River Moy to Leinster House last week.

The Moy Action Group (MAG) attended the Oireachtas Committee for Climate, Environment and Energy, alongside representatives from IFI and Salmon Watch Ireland.

The group’s main concerns are the absence of counters on the river Moy and the reliance on anglers’ logbooks, which they said are often inaccurate with less than 50% returned in 2025. The group also said the logbooks should not have been used as a data source for the 2026 legislation and the conservation measures that arise from the current legislation in relation to the Moy.

MAG member Martin Parker said they fully support conservation but it has to be done using effective and reliable data.

“We all share the same goal, which is, the long-term sustainability of salmon stocks. However effective conservation depends on reliable data. Where there are gaps or uncertainties in that data, it is both reasonable and necessary to address them,” he said.

“We respectfully ask this committee to review the current methodology, ensure all relevant data sources are fully utilised and support the development of more accurate, transparent and advanced technological systems.” 

Mr Parker added that the regulations initially proposed a lottery-style brown tag system on the Moy with a limit of 1,044 fish that could be caught but have since been amended to allow for seven fishing tags per angler and the harvesting of one fish per angler up to June 1.

“This naturally raises a question: How can two proposals and the final decision differ to this extent within a short time-frame, if they are based on the same underlying data?” he asked.

MAG has called for the logbooks to be available via a software application on a mobile phone and no longer paper-based. They plan to hold further stakeholder meetings with IFI to achieve this goal. The group also plans to arrange a site visit to Wales to observe sonar counters in operation with a view to using them on the Moy.

The group thanked Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh and Senator Mark Duffy for their support and contributions to the meeting. Senator Duffy, who invited MAG to the meeting, said it was important for the angling community to have their point of view clarified on the public record.

“Following the public meeting in the Great National Hotel at the end of last year, it was apparent strong action needed to be taken to clearly define the crisis of the salmon decline on the river Moy,” he said. “This is something seen across the north Atlantic, in many popular destinations there has been a sharp decrease and decline in salmon fishing.” 

He said the introduction of electronic logbooks and sonar data gathering, as proposed by MAG, would restore many anglers’ confidence in the data.

“There’s clearly a lack of confidence at the moment in relation to the exact numbers of salmon in the river. A better and clearer understanding of this would restore confidence with anglers and provide better scientific data.” “Our salmon fishing is under threat. We have to do the best we can to mitigate the threats posed to ensure we protect this incredible species for future generations.”