First salmon of year landed in Donegal

The first salmon of 2019 was caught and released on the Lackagh River in Co Donegal on New Year’s Day.

Inland Fisheries Ireland confirmed that Michael McCann of Templeard from Derry landed the first salmon in the Garden Pool on the Lackagh River at 9.25am yesterday. It weighed approximately 5lbs.

RTE reports that the fish was the first salmon caught and released during International Year of the Salmon which takes place this year.

CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland Dr Ciaran Byrne said the year aims to raise awareness of some of the challenges facing salmon stocks across the Northern hemisphere and he urged anglers to step up their conservation efforts and engage in catch and release angling in 2019.

Dr Byrne said salmon populations have plummeted in recent years, but added: “We look forward to promoting this global initiative in Ireland which aims to bring people together to share knowledge, raise awareness and take action on how we can ensure the resilience of salmon in Ireland and across the Northern hemisphere.”