1 February 2025
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Record-breaking fish hooked by Irish anglers in 2024 feature in new report
Two giant fish specimens feature in a newly-published book displaying some of the largest fish caught in Ireland in 2024.
New records include a 4.37kg Gilthead bream caught by a Co. Cork angler, and a 38cm-long Shore Rockling hooked by a Dublin fisherman.
The catch details are found in the 2024 Irish Specimen Fish report, which details almost 500 exceptionally large fish landed by fishers last year in Irish waters.
Dr William Roche of Inland Fisheries Ireland, and Irish Specimen Fish Committee secretary, said: “The 2024 report shows the diversity of fish species available to anglers in Ireland, and where and when they can be found.
“The results last year were very encouraging, as the number of specimen catches reported was relatively high.
“By providing a wealth of information about the abundance of large fish in Irish waters in the past 12 months, the report should give anglers a head start for 2025.”
All fish featured in the publication were caught, measured, weighed, and released.
Several anglers caught exceptionally big specimens of Tench and Dace. Large specimens of smaller shark species like Spurdog and Tope were also caught.
The Irish Specimen Fish Committee, which is mainly supported by IFI, is an independent all-Ireland voluntary body which verifies and records the capture of large fish caught with a rod by anglers in freshwater and marine waters.
Hard copies of the report can be requested free of charge from IFI offices.
About Inland Fisheries Ireland
Inland Fisheries Ireland(IFI) is the State environmental agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and managing Ireland’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources. Its core mission is to protect freshwater fish and their habitats. It was established under the Fisheries Act on July 1st, 2010, and operates under the aegis of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
There are more than 320 people working full-time at IFI in locations nationwide, and it manages a budget of approximately €39m annually. The agency has statutory responsibility for Ireland’s 74,000km of rivers and streams, together with 128,000 lake hectares. It also has a coastline patrol jurisdiction of 12 nautical miles.
About the Irish Specimen Fish Committee
The Committee is an independent voluntary body, representative of angling interests in Ireland, whose principal function is to verify, record and publicise the capture of large species of fish caught on rod and line by anglers in Ireland, both in freshwater and marine waters.