General information;

The membership of National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland includes clubs and anglers throughout the 32 counties of Ireland. However anglers and visitors should be aware that different jurisdictions apply in Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland. Hence angling regulations are different in the two parts of the Country.

In Northern Ireland all waters are designated either 'Coarse' or 'Game' fisheries. For either category it is mandatory for an angler to purchase a rod licence to allow the angler to assemble a rod. The rod licence is issued by the Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland and is available through tackle shops and tourist outlets.

Following the purchase of a rod licence the angler may be faced with a further 'permit charge'  levied by the fishery owner before they  can fish a water. In general there are three categories of fishery ownership in Northern Ireland;

• Undeveloped Waters;  where the rod licence and the landowners permission are sufficient to allow an angler to fish.

• The Public Angling Estate; owned  by the Dept. of Agriculture for N.I., a DANI permit distributed by tackle shops etc., in addition to the rod licence is required to fish in these public waters. Examples of these public angling include; Lough Erne, Upper River Bann, the Quoile River, and several lakes in South Tyrone.

• Private Angling Waters;  are owned by individuals or companies who issue permits through selected outlets. A specific permit and a rod licence are required to fish these waters, the best known of which is the Lower River Bann, where the fishing is owned by the  Bann Systems Ltd.

Protection & Pollution

The Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland has the primary responsibility for the enforcement of fisheries legislation in Northern Ireland. They are responsible for bailiffing  N.Irealnd waters and keeping a check on illegal fishing activity. They also instigate prosecutions for water pollution incidents  resulting in fish kills. The Dept. of the Environment for N.I. also has a role in water quality and pollution control and can also take prosecutions where general water pollution incidents are detected. Should any such incident or fish kill be detected by anglers they should immediately notify;

1. Fisheries Conservancy Board for N. Ireland
   http://www.fcbni.com/

Tel;   01762.334666 (also for poaching)

1. Pollution Hotline.       Tel;    0800.807060

The NCFFI would like to thank Robert Buick for the compilation of this information.