Wild Salmon Now Available From Sustainable Irish Fisheries
PRESS RELEASE - Tuesday, 7th June 2016
Wild Salmon Now Available From Sustainable Irish Fisheries
Wild Atlantic Salmon is now available at fish counters around Ireland. This salmon comes from sustainably-managed traditional net fisheries on estuaries and rivers around Ireland, where the number of returning salmon allows fish to be harvested, while maintaining a healthy stock of spawning fish for future generations.
In total, the commercial quota for wild Atlantic salmon harvest is just 11,131 from a total of 58,599 (angling and commercial combined), which makes it a premium and sought-after product. Wild Irish salmon can be regarded as truly organic, having lived its life in the wild, fed on wild fish and krill, and travelling thousands of miles on its long ocean migration, ensuring firm flesh and high levels of healthy Omega-3 oils.
Salmon conservation measures ensure that only appropriately tagged and recorded wild salmon, commercially caught within the state, may be sold. As part of the wild salmon and sea trout tagging regulations, all legally caught wild salmon must have a valid gill-tag (green in the case of draft net, white in the case of snap net fishing) or tail-tag, in the case of imported wild salmon, before processing, and only authorised dealers or commercial licensed salmon fishermen may sell them. It is not permitted to sell rod caught wild salmon within the state or sell wild salmon without a valid gill or tail tag attached.
Sean Kyne, Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, said: “Wild Atlantic Salmon is a premium product. We all have a duty to ensure that conservation measures continue to be effective. Buying or selling illegally caught salmon jeopardises Ireland’s potential to have a sustainable salmon fishery into the future.”
A hotline is in place to report illegal fishing including the purchase/sale of illegally caught salmon. Please call 1890 34 74 24 if you have information that may help preserve our wild salmon stocks.
Farmed salmon and organic farmed salmon is a very different product to wild salmon. Farmed salmon is widely available year round. If consumers have any doubts as to the origin of the salmon please ask the supplier and help conserve Ireland's wonderful wild salmon resource. Farmed salmon being sold as wild should be reported to the Food Safety Authority.
For more information, visit www.fisheriesireland.ie.
ENDS
Media Enquiries
Further Information:
Suzanne Campion
Head of Business Development
Inland Fisheries Ireland
Anglesea Street,
Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
Tel: 052 6180055 Fax: 052 6123971
Email: suzanne.campion@fisheriesireland.ie
Website: www.fisheriesireland.ie
Notes to Editor
Inland Fisheries Ireland is a statutory body operating under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and was established under the Fisheries Act on 1st July 2010. Its principal function is the protection and conservation of the inland fisheries resource. IFI will promote, support, facilitate and advise the Minister on, the conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries, including sea angling and develop and advise the Minister on policy and national strategies relating to inland fisheries and sea angling.
The regulation in force is S.I. No. 581 of 2015 - Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2015 and came into law on January 1st, 2016.
