IF YOU'RE among the thousands of northern anglers who'll be fishing in the Republic over the holidays, you should be aware that CPR saves fish.
That's according to rivers and lakes fisheries agency Inland Fisheries Ireland, whose latest campaign highlights the importance of conservation in angling. The hashtag #CPRsavesfish has been placed at bridges and high-footfall locations across the south to bring attention to conservation-focused angling.
‘CPR’ stands for ‘Catch, Photo, Release’ and refers to a method of angling where a fish is caught and subsequently returned unharmed back into the water. The technique helps maintain healthy fish stocks and ensures future generations can continue to enjoy the hugely popular pastime of fishing, the agency says.
Inland Fisheries Ireland is supporting catch and release across all types of angling including pike, coarse, salmon and trout fishing, as well as sea angling. The method results in positive survival rates for fish when caught using best practise methods.
Research carried out by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in 2014 examined the survival of salmon after catch and release fishing in three Irish rivers – the Owenmore in Co Mayo, the Mulkear in Co Limerick and the Feale in Co Kerry. Overall, 92 per cent of the Atlantic salmon recorded after tagging survived post catch and release.
The #CPRsavesfish stencils can be found in urban locations in each River Basin District in Ireland including Dublin, Cork, Letterkenny, Galway, Limerick and Kilkenny. They are environmentally friendly and will fade naturally in a matter of weeks.
Suzanne Campion of Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “This awareness campaign aims to put angling on the general public’s radar by playing on the concept of CPR as a lifesaving mechanism and to engage existing anglers around the practise of catch and release fishing.
"Catch, Photo, Release angling ensures the sustainability of our fisheries resource in the long term with most sporting anglers in Ireland already practicing catch and release to some degree, recognising that it ensures the maintenance of healthy fish stocks and the sustainability of the sport in the long term.
:: For more see www.fishinginireland.info/cprsavesfish
