Catch and release?

Orion

I'm not a fisherman so this is just for my own curiosity.

I was down at the playground in Maynooth with my kids this evening and there were a lot of lads out fishing in the Royal Canal. While we were watching one of the guys caught a fish (don't ask me what type) that was pretty small - about 8 inches. He passed it to another lad who took it down to where their boxes of bud were and threw it in a box.

All this took place under two signs which say all fish must be returned alive. (I only knew the signs were there because I run along the canal and I've seen them when stopping to stretch).

Why would someone keep a fish that size especially in a catch and release area? There was no eating in it and I thought that any fish below a certain size had to be released in any area even apart from a catch and release area.

There was another guy there who was not with this group - this guy looked a lot more professional tbh. He had one of these sunken baskets to keep his catches. I saw him catch two reasonably sized fish and put them in it. Does he just keep them there to keep track of his catches and then release at the end or are they live dinner?

I'm not fishing police or anything - this is just idle curiousity

stevenmu

There's probably more eating than you'd think in an 8" fish, especially if you catch a lot of them which is probably what these lads were at. What they're doing is (I'm pretty sure) illegal, and most fishermen these days would be strongly against it. If you rang the guards, or if a fisheries/club number is provided on the signs rang that, you'd be loudly applauded on the forum here. People like that have destroyed fishing stocks around the country, for years there was little to no fish in many parts of the canals because of people killing and eating everything they could catch

The second lad was using a 'keep net', it will keep the fish alive and generally people using them will return them at the end of the session. They use them to measure their session by overall weight, I think. They're used in coarse fishing competitions a lot, I'm not really sure why people would use them outside of competitions, but they're generally considered acceptable and to not damage the fish.

Bizzum

stevenmu wrote: »

There's probably more eating than you'd think in an 8" fish, What they're doing is (I'm pretty sure) illegal

Bye law 806 allows any angler to kill 4 such fish. Distasteful as it may seem in this case is is not illegal.
It's my considered opinion that this is not sustainable in the canals in particular, I would go as far as saying that 806 should not apply in the canals, and that they should be C & R only.
Maybe it's time for all vested interests to get together and iron this out for once and for all.

karlram

get the number off the signs and next time you see them report the B*****ds please. :mad:

Bizzum

karlram wrote: »

get the number off the signs and next time you see them report the B*****ds please. :mad:

Report them to who? Waterways Ireland put up the catch and release signage several years ago without any regard to what the regulations actually are.

It is IFI that are charged with policing the canal. By all means ring them. But if an offence isn't being committed it's unlikely anything can be done about it.
I'll say it again: Untill C&R legislation is brought into force to protect the canals, coarse fish will continue to be taken and killed LEGALLY 4 at a time per rod per day!

gsxr1

its bad form.

Tesco sell the stuff gutted and cleaned in little handy plastic packs.

Why kill the makings of a future big fish.

In the club I am part of. It is against the rules to kill anything under 8". And rightly so.

Orion

Bizzum is right - I'm pretty sure it's a Waterways Ireland sign. I don't recall seeing a number on it but I didn't look that closely.

It looks like it's more complicated that I first thought anyway. Thanks for the replies lads.

wgsten

Inland Fisheries Ireland have a 24hr confidential phone line http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/Press-releases/24-hour-phone-service.html

tin79

The fish 24 line is very good and very effective. The IFI will respond to queries on canals and they are the state enforcement body. Waterways Ireland have posted the signs preventing all removal of fish.

I am not sure on the legal position of this.

karlram

1890347424
this is athe 24 hour baliff number and someone will always answer and have someone out within the hour

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

gsxr1 wrote: »

its bad form.

Tesco sell the stuff gutted and cleaned in little handy plastic packs.

and lidl sells the packs for gutting them


the only thing that shocks me about this is that it was done in such a public place

aidanf

Why the shock that it was done in a public place? And why are several posters suggesting calling IFI about it? From what Bizzum said earlier and from what I read from here , the law says that someone can kill up to 4 coarse fish per day as long as they are less than 25cm (approx. 9.8 inches).

While you might not like it, it sounds like they are not breaking the law. And if they are not breaking the law, they are free to do it in a public place without being hassled. And if they're not breaking the law then there is no point in calling the IFI hotline as you are just wasting their time. I'd imagine their resources are limited and there are plenty of cases of real poaching that they could be investigating rather than coming out for false alarms.

Macspower

While the outdated and abused 4 fish rule still applies on some waters it does not apply on the Canals under control of Waterways Ireland.

Taking of fish from the canals is braking the law and can be enforced by an authorised officer appointed by the courts or from IFI. Most clubs have an appointed officer to enfore the laws in their catchment area.

Any decent angler worth his salt will return all coarse fish alive... and I've often saved fish from certain doom by nearby anglers and educating them in the process..

From section 33 of the waterways by law.

"33. Fishing. This Bye-law formalises Waterways Ireland’s Catch and Release rule whereby fish caught in the navigations under its ownership must be returned. The taking of fish from these navigations, as specified in Appendix 4, is considered a breach of this Bye-law."

penalties July 20101238. PenaltiesThe introduction of Fixed Payment Notices against persons found guilty of anoffence under these Bye-laws, is a move by Waterways Ireland to bring aboutgreater compliance. Fines may also be levied on summary conviction up to€5,000.39. Complaints and appealsComplaints relating to decisions taken by Waterways Ireland on Bye-lawcontraventions should in the first instance be sent to Waterways Ireland’sCustomer Services Co-ordinator. A person also has the option of challenging Waterways Ireland’s decisions through the District County Court, provided theappeal is submitted within 6 weeks of the decision being communicated.

Macspower

aidanf wrote: »

Why the shock that it was done in a public place? And why are several posters suggesting calling IFI about it? From what Bizzum said earlier and from what I read from here , the law says that someone can kill up to 4 coarse fish per day as long as they are less than 25cm (approx. 9.8 inches).

The canals systems is under the control of waterways ireland and governed by a different set of rules..

enforcement is a different thing however..

aidanf

Macspower wrote: »

The canals systems is under the control of waterways ireland and governed by a different set of rules..

enforcement is a different thing however..

Thanks for the correction and the link to the relevant law. I didn't that the canals were covered by a different law to the rest of rivers/lakes.

Cdub

Education is the answer but some people just don't care and continue decimating the stocks, very frustrating.