Salmon fishing limits tightened after weak 2025 returns in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Loughs Agency, the cross-border fisheries body responsible for the Foyle and Carlingford catchments in Ireland and Northern Ireland, has reduced salmon carcass tag allocations for the 2026 angling season following a sharp decline in returning fish, according to a report by Donegal Live.
Fish counter data from the Rivers Finn, Roe, Faughan and Mourne recorded approximately 3,500 returning Atlantic salmon in 2025, representing a 63% decrease compared with the five-year average. None of the four statutory rivers met their management targets last year, the publication reported.
As a result, no blue tags will be issued for the 2026 season, meaning all rivers within the Agency’s remit will operate on a catch-and-release basis until 1 June. From 1 June to 31 October, anglers will be issued with one black tag per licence, reduced from two previously.
The measures are intended to ease pressure on already vulnerable salmon stocks in the Foyle and Carlingford systems, which span the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Atlantic salmon are widely recognised as a species under pressure across the North Atlantic, with climate change, pollution, habitat loss and exploitation cited as contributing factors.
Loughs Agency said the continued availability of a single black tag is not an endorsement of killing salmon, but a safeguard in cases where a fish intended for release is accidentally mortally injured.
“The Atlantic salmon is an iconic species and part of our natural heritage. In order to protect salmon for future generations, we are required to make urgent conservation-led decisions which are evidence-based and ultimately to protect what little stock currently exists,” chief executive Sharon McMahon told Donegal Live.
The Agency said it will continue to monitor salmon stocks across the Foyle and Carlingford catchments and work with partners to address pressures affecting the species throughout its life cycle.