On Wednesday 22nd March 2023, 45 more tags for the 2023 Angling Season will be issued.

To boost conservation efforts, anglers who wish to catch and keep wild salmon from the Lower River Lee in Cork this year, are being reminded by Inland Fisheries Ireland that ‘brown tag’ regulations are in force until the season closes on 30th September 2023.

The measures are included in the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations, signed into law by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, T.D.

Under brown tag regulations, an angler who wishes to ‘harvest’ a wild salmon i.e., take or keep it, must attach a brown tag as well as a standard blue tag to the fish. To help conserve stocks of wild salmon within the Lower River Lee, No. 5 or Cork District, a total of 180 brown tags will be available for the season and will be distributed to anglers with a valid 2023 rod licence through a series of four online draws.

Up to a quarter of the available number of brown tags can be issued at one time, under the Wild Salmon and Seatrout Tagging Scheme Regulations; accordingly, 45 tags were issued in January. On Wednesday 22nd March 2023, 45 more tags for the 2023 Angling Season will be issued.

How to apply

Any anglers that are interested in entering the draw are being asked to fill out the online from, available from today, 7th March to 5pm Monday, 20th March only.

Only one entry to the draw is permitted per licence holder and the only method of entering the draw is through the online form; email entries will not be accepted.

Anglers who received a tag in the previous draw may only enter this draw if they have used that tag. Anglers must be able to provide evidence of using the tag by supplying a photo of the double tagged salmon and the relevant entry in their angler’s logbook.

Anglers with a 2023 rod licence who are not allocated a brown tag are only permitted to fish for salmon on a ‘catch and release’ basis on the Lower River Lee. Other conditions also apply, please see https://fishinginireland.info/salmon/southwest/lee/ for further information.

Further details are available from the Inland Fisheries Ireland’s website at www.fisheriesireland.ie.