Review of Bye-Laws by Inland Fisheries Conservation of Pike Submission Guideline.
Review of Bye-laws by Inland Fisheries Ireland including
the Conservation and Prohibition on Sale of Coarse Fish;
Transfer of Live Roach;
Conservation of Pike
This public consultation opens on Monday, 22/09/2025 at 2:00am
and closes on Sunday, 02/11/2025 at 6:00pm.
Please note that the following questions are taken from the ‘Conservation of Pike bye-law’, and the comments inserted in response to each question are considered by IFPAC to be relevant to this review.
Link to ‘Conservation of Pike bye-law’ public consultation on IFI website is as follows:
https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/form/byelaw-review-conservation-pike
Q. Are you satisfied with the national bye-law 809, 2006, in its current form?
A. Yes
Q. In the interest of pike conservation, what (if any) changes or improvements would you like to see and why?
A. I would propose the following changes:
1. Revise ‘Article 7’ to remove reference to the storage of ‘pike parts’ within a ‘vehicle’. This revision would remove the potential opportunity to kill a pike larger than 50cm and divide the parts among several individuals, thereby legalising the killing of an oversized pike. Any pike removed must remain whole or at least measurable, until reaching the temporary or permanent residence of the captor, to aid conservation and enforcement.
2. Update the reference to ‘regional board’ to ‘river basin district’ to align with the most recent Fisheries Act.
Q. Should the current coarse fish definition be amended, relating to the use of coarse fish for use as bait in fishing for pike (the current ‘coarse fish’ definition means any freshwater fish other than pike, salmon, trout, eels or minnow)?
A. No
Q. In your opinion, should this bye-law be applied nationally?
A. Yes, for the following reasons:
1. A single nationally applied bye-law reduces the possibility of ambiguity on a fishery be fishery basis, and therefore benefits enforcement.
2. The angling community in Ireland has become significantly more diverse in the past 20 years. A single bye-law applied nationally is easily communicated and understood and thereby assists integration.
3. There is no evidence to suggest that the current bye-law is having a negative impact upon other fish stocks in individual fisheries.
Q. How could this bye-law be strengthened to better equip IFI to deal with fisheries offences?
Revise ‘Article 7’ to remove reference to the storage of ‘pike parts’ within a ‘vehicle’. Any pike removed must remain whole or at least measurable, until reaching the temporary or permanent residence of the captor. This amendment would better equip IFI to deal accurately with fisheries offences.
Q. Do you think the current levels of fines and sanctions are sufficient for breaches of this bye-law?
A. No, for the following reason:
Fines and sanctions should be graded depending upon severity of the breach e.g. Killing one oversized pike meets the minimum threshold of the current fines. I propose that the killing of more than one pike and/or or the killing of a larger pike on a graded size scale should incur a greater range of fines and potential sanctions for the offender.
Q. Would you like to include any additional recommendations or observation relating to this bye-law?
A. Yes, please consider the following:
1. Submission Regarding Pike Bye-Law and Management of Western Lakes
Enforcement of Existing Pike Bye-Law:
There is clear evidence in print and social media of widespread abuse of the pike bye-law on Lough Corrib by a small minority of anglers who wish to see it weakened. This raises serious concerns that Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) may not be adequately enforcing its statutory duty to protect pike. IFI should investigate and address all reported illegal breaches of the bye-law.
Examples of reported bye-law abuse can be found here:
Defiant anglers’ stage environmental protest against bylaws
Anglers take the law into their own hands-on pike
https://archive.connachttribune.ie/defiant-anglers-stage-environmental-protest-against-bylaws/
https://archive.connachttribune.ie/anglers-take-the-law-into-their-own-hands-on-pike/
Pike Are a Native Species:
Peer-reviewed scientific research indicates that pike naturally colonised Ireland over 8,000 years ago. Unless IFI can provide robust scientific evidence to the contrary, it must accept that pike are a native or naturalised species in many Irish waters. Any action to artificially reduce pike populations could therefore contravene the EU Habitats Directive and Water Framework Directive.
Pike Are Not the Main Threat to Salmonids:
Pike are opportunist predators, and current scientific evidence shows that environmental factors — not pike predation — are the main pressures on salmonid populations where the two species coexist. Pike diets have shifted over recent decades to focus more on coarse fish, reducing their impact on salmonids. Allowing more pike to be killed will not improve salmonid numbers. Management decisions should be based on the best available scientific evidence.