Debate contribution: Angling Sites: Stocking Protocol
Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew Muir
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 11 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Angling Sites: Stocking Protocol
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5349230
Read the official Assembly record
Text
DAERA and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) are developing a stocking protocol to ensure compliance with the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and prevent the spread of zebra mussels. Results from water sampling at the Department's fish farm at Movanagher have been assessed for the presence or absence of live zebra mussels. That has provided understanding of the level of zebra mussel reproduction across the entire year and identified periods that would permit stocking. Therefore, as a precautionary measure at this time, stocking has taken place only when there has been no live reproduction present and the water temperature has been below 10°C. That stocking approach has allowed a limited stocking of the public angling estate (PAE) waters, which is part of the usual annual stocking programme. That has allowed around 29,500 brown trout to be stocked out over a number of weeks up to 26 March 2025. The Carrickfergus dams were stocked at that time. The window for stocking the PAE from Movanagher closed when water temperatures rose to 10°C. The stocking of fish to the PAE waters is planned for the autumn and winter period of 2025-26, when conditions allow compliance with the Wildlife Order. Only 27 of the 89 PAE waters are normally stocked. Despite the reduced stocking, the waters still contain wild fish suitable for anglers. Therefore, a wide variety of wild fisheries and angling opportunities are available to PAE permit holders.
237 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.58 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.97 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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