A Donegal man found himself in hot water after snorkelling to an offshore net in an attempt to capture salmon.
Gerard McGuinness of Largymore, Killybegs, was fined for swimming, in a wetsuit and snorkel gear, to a 100-metre net set offshore at Roskeeragh Point, Mullaghmore, Sligo between April 28th and 29th 2023.
Fisheries officers engaged with McGuinness and a total of 200 metres of salmon nets were recovered.
Inland Fisheries Ireland(IFI) secure a conviction against McGuinness in Sligo District Court on March 5th 2024.
He was fined €2,000, must pay €750 in costs to IFI, and his equipment was seized.
The case was one of four convictions against four men for separate illegal salmon angling offences in Sligo, with fines and costs of more than €6,000 levied.
In another incident, a man took a salmon from a catch-and-release river, and placed it into a rucksack before attempting to leave by bike.
In separate cases, two men were prosecuted for failing to produce a salmon licence or a permit to fish.
Commenting after the verdicts, Mary Walsh, Director of IFI’s Western River Basin, Ballina said: “The protection of Ireland’s wild Atlantic salmon stocks is a crucial objective for Inland Fisheries Ireland to ensure these iconic fish survive and thrive.
“I commend our fisheries officers who were instrumental in protecting the State’s fisheries resources in these incidents.”