Donegal's Crana River in Inishowen having limited opening in new salmon fishing season

Opinion is split among Donegal and Inishowen anglers regarding the proposal to allow a limited amount of salmon fishing on the Crana river in the coming season.

The proposal from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is contained in the document: “Consultation on Draft Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations 2019” produced by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The consultation closes on Friday, December 13.

IFI is the agency responsible for the conservation, protection, management, marketing, development and improvement of our inland fisheries and sea angling resources.

Speaking to Donegal Live, Pat Kane, local angler and member of Buncrana Anglers' Association explained the Crana river had been on 'catch and release' status since 2016, which effectively meant it was closed.

Mr Kane said: “IFI has now estimated there will be a surplus of 99 salmon in the Crana river next season (March 1 to September 30) so it is proposing anglers be allowed to take those 99 fish out of the river.

“The IFI will issue 'brown tags' along with the 'blue tags' in order to facilitate this process, although it has not yet been finalised which organisation, IFI or Buncrana Anglers' Association, will be managing the scheme. Once the 99 salmon have been harvested, the River Crana will revert to its previous 'catch and release' status.

“Speaking to local anglers, opinion is divided on the proposal to introduce 99 'brown tags' in the coming season. Some people believe there are not enough fish in the Crana, even though IFI estimates there will be a 99 fish surplus. Some people believe the river needs a wee bit longer to return to its salmon population to what it was in the past. The cycle of a salmon is five years but the Crana has only been operating on a 'catch and release' basis for the past four years. Some people believe it should be left for another year at least as 'catch and release.'

“Really the club is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't. It needs revenue. Just to have the Crana opened next year will cost €3,000 to pay the rates. To raise that money, the club needs to sell permits. When the 'catch and release' scheme was introduced on the Crana, the sale of permits collapsed. When the river was at itself, we were averaging about 60 to 80 permits. In the last couple of years that has dwindled to under 20,” said Mr Kane.

The committee of Buncrana Anglers' Association will be meeting to discuss the 'brown tag' proposal in the next few weeks.

Pat Kane also reminded anglers that anyone caught with a salmon without a brown tag is liable to an on-the-spot €150 fine.