Inland Fisheries Ireland has today revealed details of the incident where officers seized a boat, net and nine wild salmon near Carrick on Suir late last month.
Fisheries Protection Officers were on a routine patrol on the River Suir near Carrick during the night of Tuesday, July 28th last when they came across illegal salmon fishing.
A firearm was discharged by the alleged offenders while IFI Officers who subsequently seized a boat, net and nine wild salmon.
Nobody was injured during the incident – members of An Garda Síochána attended the scene and the incident is being investigated.
Inland Fisheries Ireland Director David McInerney says the salmon caught by this illegal net were on the final leg of an arduous journey to reach their native spawning rivers.
He went on to say 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.
David McInerney also highlighted the dedication and courage demonstrated by the officers in tackling illegal fishing in the face of significant personal danger.
Information may be passed directly to local Inland Fisheries Ireland staff or by phoning IFI’s confidential hotline number to enable members of the public to report incidents of water pollution, illegal fishing and fish kills – 1890 34 74 24.
