Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)

Public Consultation

Please note - the resulting bye law can be viewed at this link: Conservation of Sea Trout (No 7 or Kerry District) (Waterville Area) Bye Law No 971 of 2019

Please note - submissions made in respect of this public consultation can be viewed at this link: List of submissions received Conservation of Sea Trout Waterville area

Inland Fisheries Ireland is seeking submissions from interested parties in respect of a proposed bye-law which would prohibit the retention and possession of any sea trout taken in the Waterville area of Co. Kerry.

This new bye-law is intended to decrease the pressure on sea trout stocks in the systems while still allowing anglers to fish and would mainly affect fishing on:

The River Inny (Knockmoyle) and its tributaries;
The waters of the Waterville system, including the Waterville River, Lough Currane, the Cummeragh River and all their tributary rivers and lakes;
The waters of Ballinskelligs Bay.

This change would affect persons fishing for sea trout by all methods (rod & line, net, box or crib).
This bye-law may be time limited or subject to review after a given period.
The current regulations which govern fishing for salmon in these waters would not be affected.

All submissions must be received in writing. Please be aware that all submissions received by Inland Fisheries Ireland will be published on its website www.fisheriesireland.ie. In addition Inland Fisheries Ireland is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1997 and therefore has to consider any request made to it under that Act.

If you consider that any part of your submission would be subject to any of the statutory exclusions under that Act please so indicate in your submission, specifying under which exemption you believe the content should be excluded.

Inland Fisheries Ireland will make every effort to comply fully with the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 and the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC

Submissions should be marked ‘Public consultation – Waterville Area (Conservation of Sea Trout) Bye Law’ and be submitted by post to: Inland Fisheries Ireland, Sunnyside House, Macroom, Co. Cork, P12 X602 or by email to: watervillebyelaw@fisheriesireland.ie

The Public Consultation period will run for 28 days and the closing date for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Wednesday 18th July 2018.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this Bye-Law do?

This new Bye-law will prohibit the retention and possession of any sea trout taken by any fishing or by rod and line in the Waterville area of County Kerry.

What areas will this Bye-law affect?

This Bye-law applies to that part of the sea eastward of a line drawn from the most westerly point of Bolus Head to the most westerly point of Lamb’s Head, all in the County of Kerry, and to all the waters discharging in to it.

This new Bye-law will mainly affect seatrout fishing on :-

the River Inny (Knockmoyle) and its tributaries
the waters of the Waterville system, including the Waterville River, Lough Currane, the Cummeragh River and all their tributary rivers and lakes
the waters of Ballinskelligs Bay

Waterville byelaw extent of proposed catch and release area

Why is this Bye-Law necessary?

The purpose of this bye law is to seek to reasonably limit the pressure on sea trout stocks which spawn and live in the area of Ballinskelligs Bay and the river systems which discharge in to the Bay.

IFI counter data and catch records indicate that there has been a collapse in sea trout stocks in the general Waterville area. The introduction of a Bye -law to prohibit the retention and possession of any sea trout would decrease the pressure on the sea trout stock.

Who is affected by this Bye-Law?

This bye law will equally affect both rod & line fishermen and fishermen who use, or may have the right to use, other legal engines (draft net, box or crib) in fishing for sea trout in the designated waters.

What species of fish are protected by this Bye-Law?

This Bye-law is to protect sea trout.

This bye law does not include salmon as fishing for salmon in this area is already regulated by the Wild Salmon & Sea Trout Regulations and by the Control of Fishing for Salmon Order however large sea trout currently covered by salmon tagging regulations would also have to be released.

What about the anglers that fish for other species on the designated waters?

Anglers who fish in these waters to target other species (e.g. salmon, mackerel, bass, etc.) will not be unduly affected by this Bye-law as it relates only to sea trout., however any sea trout captured as ‘by-catch’ could not be taken, and would have to be returned alive to the water.

Will it be a permanent Bye-Law?

This bye-law may be time limited or subject to review after an initial 3 year period as it may no longer be needed if sea trout numbers recover.

How can I make a submission to the process?

All submissions must be received in writing.

Submissions should be marked ‘Public consultation – Waterville area C&R’ and be submitted by post to: Inland Fisheries Ireland, Sunnyside House, Macroom, Co. Cork, P12 X602 or by email to: watervillebyelaw@fisheriesireland.ie

The Public Consultation period will run until 5 pm on Wednesday 18th July 2018.

Will my submission be made public?

All submissions received by Inland Fisheries Ireland will be published on its website www.fisheriesireland.ie. In addition Inland Fisheries Ireland is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1997 and therefore has to consider any request made to it under that Act.

Inland Fisheries Ireland will make every effort to comply fully with the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 and the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC.