We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
SHOTS WERE FIRED and a boat was seized during an incident in which patrol officers from Inland Fisheries Ireland confronted suspected offenders illegally catching salmon on the River Suir last month.
It occurred overnight on Tuesday 28 July during a routine patrol and an investigation is now underway by gardaí. No one was injured during the incident.
A net was used to trap nine wild salmon on the river. Salmon fishing is prohibited without a valid commercial salmon fishing licence to protect stock levels.
“Fisheries Protection officers seized a boat, net and nine wild salmon on the upper tidal river Suir during the night on Tuesday, 28 July, near Carrick-on-Suir, encountered during a routine fisheries patrol,” a spokesperson said.
“A firearm was discharged by the alleged offenders while IFI Officers were responding to this illegal and highly damaging environmental crime. Nobody was injured during the incident. Members of An Garda Síochána attended the scene and the incident is being investigated.”
A garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí attended an incident which occurred in Carrick On Suir, Co Tipperary on the 28 July 2020 at approximately 10pm. Investigations are ongoing.”
Director of Inland Fisheries Ireland, David McInerney said the fish were “cruelly killed” and urged consumers to be aware of salmon origins when purchasing the fish.
“The salmon caught by this illegal net were on the final leg of an arduous journey to reach their native spawning rivers,” he said. “The fish were fresh in from the sea, having survived a journey from either the coastal waters off west Greenland or the Faroe Island, before being cruelly killed by an illegal net, a few miles from their final destination.
“It cannot be stressed enough that nobody should purchase wild salmon that does not carry either a green or white gill tag through the mouth and gill clearly displaying the name Inland Fisheries Ireland.”
He added: “I would like to highlight the dedication and courage demonstrated by the officers in tackling illegal fishing in the face of significant personal danger.”
Anyone with information can contact local Inland Fisheries Ireland staff directly or by phoning IFI’s confidential hotline number to report incidents of water pollution, illegal fishing and fish kills on 1890 34 74 24.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Great work guys
Hopefully these people are locked up for a long time,firing rounds at gardai over getting caught for illegal fishing. These people have to be the lowest of the low.
@Richard Brogan: I guess they slipped through the authorities hand
@Richard Brogan: there was no Gardai involved at the scene, on that night of 28th of July, and nowhere did the article state gun fired at gardai!
@Martin: it was fired at the fisheries officer’s
@Martin: does it matter who the target of the firing actually was? Shots were fired at people doing their jobs, surely that is bad enough?
@BriP75: slipped through the net, fishy customers, salmon must have grassed on them.
@Martin: Gardai were far too busy busting hippies growing a few weed plants in their shed. Who cares if our rivers are being plundered? Or that sex offenders roam our streets after getting suspended sentences. Lets expend all police resources and funding on locking up horticulturists instead.
I’m just glad there was someone with the balls and brains to go tackle some actual criminals.
“The fish were fresh in from the sea, having survived a journey from either the coastal waters off west Greenland or the Faroe Island, before being cruelly killed by an illegal net, a few miles from their final destination.”
Would a “legal” net be any less “cruel”?
@Richard Hegarty: A legal net wouldn’t be farming them at this point in their lifecycle.
@Richard Hegarty: Green land why did they not fly home it was a holiday destination aloud
@Richard Hegarty: There aren’t any legal nets for Salmon in this country.
@Robert Conneely: Yes there most certainly is. We have legal draft nets operating here on the River Laune in kerry.
Thank god the caught them.
The fisheries officers turn a blind eye to a lot of salmon netting, the people involved in Kerry at least are too dangerous to confront never mind prosecute…
@David Grey: tell us more
@David Grey: You’re not referring to the boys around the Cashen in Ballyduff are you ?
That’s more of it
How do you NOT ‘cruelly kill’ a fish?
@Tony Gordon: using a priest would be regarded as not cruel
@Martin: ah give over, sure the fish never got over the ‘loaves and fishes’ incident
@Tony Gordon: You certainly know nothing about fishing.
@Billy McNamara: a claim I never made, and a question not answered
@Tony Gordon: hitting it on the head with something blunt is one easiest and quickest for wild fish
They are at it on the suit, nore, barrow for years. About time the authorities acted.
I think the vehicles used in this type of crime should be confiscated as well. Prison sentences with much more severe sentences handed out.
Typo on the sub-headline. (Investigating).
I pefare the more religus fish
The monk fish lovely fried in butter
There’s so thing very fishy about this story
It ant going to real me in!!!!!
@BriP75: they only discharged the gun to shoot the fish in the barrell
@Tony Gordon: maybe it was the Russians looken for salman rushty
@BriP75: puns tend to work better when spelled correctly.
@Peter Denham: you know Peter putting someone down for a selling mistake is petty, we all got the intended joke.
Some people have spelling difficulty, for many reasons, and maybe a little thought should be put into comments that arbitrarily put someone down.
@BriP75: It was actually the Iranians
@Tony Gordon: What’s a “selling” mistake?
@Tony Gordon: just do a spell check.
@James Kelly: just as long as smell checker recognises the worms correctly.
Poaching is still a thing,? Thought the rivers were empty..
@MickN: only our rivers run free
@MickN: Far from empty, and unfortunately poaching is very common. Angling clubs work closely with Inland Fisheries Ireland to try and catch the poachers and make an example of them.
Something fishy going on there
Down with this sort of stuff
Hang’em…
@M.J. O’ Neill: smokem salmon tastes better smoked
Nine x Y + shot = 20
Poaching of coarse fish is still at high levels. Thankfully work has been done but certain rivers and lakes will take years to get the stock up to previous levels. Whole stretch of canals were emptied out as well.
Happened with Pike in the past and Salmon traditionally but coarse fish had never been targeted so hard
have your say