The secretary of River Faughan Anglers has accused the Loughs Agency of announcing its decision to move to ‘catch and release’ on the rivers Faughan, Roe and Mourne “without formal notice to the River Faughan Anglers”.

According to Gerry Quinn, the announcement ‘ignored the fact that the majority of fish caught on the Faughan are ultimately released by our anglers voluntarily’.

River Faughan Anglers manages the fishing of Salmon and Trout on the tidal and inland and freshwaters of the River Faughan and its tributaries.

“As custodians of the River Faughan, we believe we have a right to expect proper and meaningful consultation,” said Mr Quinn.

Last week the Loughs Agency said it was introducing ‘catch and release’ for the remainder of the 2026 season, following ‘concerns over the numbers of returning Atlantic salmon’ in the rivers.

It added: “The decision follows a review of the 2026 salmon monitoring data, including fish counter information from the River Roe, River Faughan and River Mourne. Based on the information available, Loughs Agency is not satisfied that the required management targets for Atlantic salmon have been met.”

Mr Quinn described the Loughs Agency as ‘forcing anglers to release all salmon caught because, allegedly, the fish counter figures do not meet a specified target’.

“This is despite the fact that they have acknowledged that their counter figures record only a partial count.

“The issue for our anglers is that catch and release prohibits the use of worm as a bait, most of our older anglers like to sit and fish worm, most youngsters new to the sport start off by worm-fishing.

“In the long term enforced catch and release is the death-knell for angling clubs,” he said.

Mr Quinn said Faughan Anglers did not believe ‘catch and release’ was ‘an effective tool in restoring flagging runs of migratory salmonids’.

“The evidence from the river Finn, or the Scottish Dee would seem to support this,” he added.

“We do not see a wider strategy or plan to address the reduced run of salmon and sea-trout in the Faughan or wider Foyle area, we see imposing catch and release as blaming anglers and ignoring the myriad factors affecting the populations of migratory salmonids in our rivers.”

Providing context to the arguments of Faughan Anglers against ‘catch and release’ Mr Quinn said: “Many years ago, fishery scientists used to assure us that there were far too many salmon for their own good, and the commercial harvest of Foyle salmon was lauded as a positive management tool. They assured us that there was a harvestable surplus, and the efforts of anglers wasn’t even taken into account.

“Then, some twenty odd years ago, fishery scientists pivoted, and decided that there was no harvestable surplus, netting was stopped and restrictions were introduced on anglers. The River Finn, once a prolific salmon river, was initially closed to angling, then reopened on a catch and release basis,” he added.

“To this day the run of Finn salmon has never recovered. Anglers were never the problem.

“Further restrictions on anglers followed, with the introduction of carcass tags and catch limits. The salmon runs failed to show any improvement with the possible exception of the Covid years, when anglers far and wide experienced an abundance of salmon. This has been dismissed as an anomaly by fishery scientists.

“For the past 100 odd years local anglers have organised themselves to manage and preserve the fishing on the River Faughan, they have worked with the predecessors of the Loughs Agency over that period, often constructively, generally with mutual respect.

“We feel let down by the Loughs Agency,” said Mr Quinn.

Following concerns over the numbers of returning Atlantic salmon in the River Roe, River Faughan and River Mourne, Loughs Agency has moved to catch and release for the remainder of the 2026 season.

The decision follows a review of the 2026 salmon monitoring data, including fish counter information from the River Roe, River Faughan and River Mourne. Based on the information available, Loughs Agency is not satisfied that the required management targets for Atlantic salmon have been met.

Catch and release will therefore apply to the River Roe, River Faughan, River Mourne and their tributaries for the remainder of the 2026 season.

Seamus Cullinan, Director of Conservation and Protection at Loughs Agency, said: “The information coming through from our monitoring gives us cause for concern about the number of Atlantic salmon returning to the Foyle system this year. Where we cannot be satisfied that the required management targets have been met, our priority must be to protect returning salmon and give as many fish as possible the opportunity to reach their spawning grounds.

“Moving to catch and release allows angling to continue while reducing pressure on the salmon stock. We recognise the impact this change will have on anglers and greatly value their cooperation and the important role they play in supporting the conservation of Atlantic salmon.”

The Loughs Agency said the decision reflects the precautionary approach to salmon management advocated by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation.

This means taking conservation action where there is uncertainty about the status of salmon stocks, rather than delaying action where doing so could place additional pressure on those stocks.

The measure is being introduced under the fisheries management framework set out in Regulation 4 of The Foyle Area (Control of Fishing) Regulations 2010.

Loughs Agency will continue to monitor salmon stocks across the Foyle system and work with anglers, angling clubs, fishery owners and other stakeholders to support the long-term conservation and sustainability of Atlantic salmon.