Countryside Alliance Ireland - love the countryside

Countryside Alliance Ireland (CAI) is keen to hear the views of coarse angling enthusiasts following the publication for consultation of some new and far reaching proposals aimed at providing greater protection for coarse fish.

Proposals to introduce a daily bag limit, ban the killing fish over a certain length, ban the sale of rod caught fish and introduce compulsory ‘catch and release’ practices are being considered by the Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland following concerns “regarding the level of exploitation of coarse fish stocks by angling”.

Ronan Gorman Chief Executive Countryside Alliance Ireland said, “We believe that these proposals will be generally welcomed by local coarse anglers as the great majority of them return any fish they catch unharmed. However, concerns have been expressed regarding the over exploitation of coarse fish and we welcome this consultation as it gives all interested parties an opportunity to fully consider the matter and to comment on the new proposals.”

“Countryside Alliance Ireland believes that it is important that our natural resources used in a wise and sustainable way. We will be responding in detail to the consultation. However, before we do so we would welcome comments from coarse anglers, and their representative bodies.”

Interested parties can complete an on-line survey on CAI’s website www.caireland.org.

Hard copies of the survey are also available by E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or by post from Countryside Alliance Ireland, Larchfield Estate, Bailliesmills Road, Lisburn, BT27 6XJ

Telephone: 028 9263 9911