Inland Fisheries Ireland awarded vital funding to develop youth angling

Inland Fisheries Ireland awarded vital funding to develop youth angling

 

Action measures include a novice & youth angling strategy, a scheme to support angling events for young people and regional outreach co-ordinators

 

Thursday, 19th July 2018Inland Fisheries Ireland has been awarded funding to develop angling among young people as part of the Dormant Account Action Plan 2018,announced by Sean Kyne T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Rural Community Development. The Dormant Account Action Plan allocates €40 million in funding to 45 measures nationwide.

Minister Kyne said “Inland Fisheries Ireland was chosen as a recipient of two funding measures which will engage and support young and novice anglers in Ireland. The funding will see the development of a new novice angling strategy, a scheme to support angling events for novice and youth anglers and the appointment of five Regional Outreach Co-Ordinators”.

The measures are as follows:

Measure 2.7.1 Novice Angling Strategy (€70,000)

This measure will see the development of a Novice/Youth Angling Strategy and a scheme to support events for disadvantaged groups, angling hubs and coaches to ensure a safe environment for youths and vulnerable adults. Inland Fisheries Ireland will continue to support Angling for Youth Development Ireland (AFYDI) and the Angling Council of Ireland (ACI) who facilitate the formation of angling hubs nationally to increase access to angling through the provision of trained coaches and safe fishing.

Measure 2.7.Go Fishing – Novice Angling Initiative (€323,250)
This project will see the appointment of five regional Outreach Coordinators in the major urban areas who will work with Angling for Youth Development Ireland, the Angling Council of Ireland and other angling organisations to increase the numbers engaging in angling across the regions.

The Dormant Accounts fund supplements the support already allocated by Inland Fisheries Ireland to youth angling via the National Strategy for Angling Development(NSAD). These five appointments, together with NSAD supported posts, will deliver national education and outreach and novice angling briefs.

The funding will allow the organisation to properly resource a novice angling strategy which will incorporate one of its existing youth angling programmes, the Dublin Angling Initiative, and the many other education & outreach initiatives which are taking place across the country. It will also reach out to and include angling and voluntary organisations nationwide.

Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “We are delighted to welcome this funding which will support us in growing the numbers of novice and youth anglers in Ireland. Recent socio-economic studies of recreational angling in Ireland reveal that of the 325,000 anglers in Ireland, 37 per cent are over 55 years of age and 49 per cent are in the 35-54 age bracket. We know however that 83 per cent of primary school students we surveyed want to go fishing.

There is a huge opportunity for us to engage the next generation around our natural fisheries resource and to introduce them to angling, a pastime they can enjoy at any age or ability with many health and wellbeing benefits. The Dormant Account funding will help us realise our ambitious objectives of growing participation in fishing nationally and secure the future of our resource as a result. We look forward to working closely with angling groups and communities across Ireland in the development of a new Youth Angling Strategy and the roll out of related novice angling initiatives.”

The Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan 2018 can be found on the Department’s website here.  For more information about Inland Fisheries Ireland, visit www.fisheriesireland.ie .

ENDS

IFI launches scientific fisheries for Eel

IFI launches a network of scientific fisheries for Eel around Ireland and invites former Eel fishermen to get involved.
 
PRESS RELEASE
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has today (23.03.16) announced that it is establishing a network of scientific fisheries for eel around Ireland. The scientific fisheries will be distributed in key catchments around Ireland (Barrow, Boyne, Corrib, Fane, Moy, Munster Blackwater, Waterford Harbour and the Shannon Estuary).
The purpose of the scientific fisheries is to increase the data and knowledge of eel in Ireland ahead of the 2018 EU review of our national eel management plan. The programme follows an announcement by Minister with responsibility for natural resources, Joe McHugh TD, last November of a new collaborative research initiative involving IFI scientists and former eel fishermen.
Announcing the programme, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, Dr Ciaran Byrne, said: “IFI is delighted to be working with the eel fishermen in undertaking research on this enigmatic creature. IFI has experience in working with stakeholders in both the commercial and recreational fishing in relation to salmon, sea trout, bass and invasive species.”
IFI’s Head of Research, Dr Cathal Gallagher, said: “The programme presents a great opportunity for eel fishermen to work with IFI to get an understanding of the process involved in gathering data to undertake stock assessments. This research will investigate changes to the eel stock as a result of the poor recruitment of eel to Europe. Data from the lake surveys carried out by IFI indicate an absence of smaller eels that were present in surveys from the 1960s to the 1990s”.
The European eel is critically endangered and in 2007 the EU introduced a regulation requiring member states to implement management plans to help eel stocks recover. The latest advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is that all mortality affecting silver eels should be reduced to – or kept as close to – zero as possible. Ireland submitted a review of its managment measures to the EU in 2015. 
ccc IFI is seeking expressions of interest by former eel fishermen in the key locations. To get an information pack with details on how to apply, please visit http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/scientific-eel-fishery-2016.html, call 01 8842600 or email info@fisheriesireland.ie. The closing date for applications is 15th April 2016.

New AFYDI Angling Hub is launched

Minister Ann Phelan launched the Kilkenny AFYDI hub at the Club House Hotel, in her address she was very encouraging to the members and supporters of the new Kilkenny AFYDI Hub.  The minister was very complimentary of the voluntary work being done in the community and the work of the Angling Council of Ireland with this initiative. It was very evident there was great interest in the new hub and Luke Boyle thanked the many sponsors that have already come forward in support.  Luke Boyle AFYDI Hub coordinator said the take up and local commitment is great,  John McGuiness TD was also very supportive of the work of the ACI and the Angling for Youth Development Ireland.

The Mayor and Chairperson of the Kilkenny Council also attended, Luke Boyle of SSTRAI explained he had received great political support for the new hub in the region and that this was very welcomed by all the anglers in the Kilkenny region. A number of TD’s and Councillors attended along with Suzanne Campion Head of Business Development Inland Fisheries Ireland and IFI Fisheries Officer support staff who have assisted in the  in the delivery of the pilot project.
Angling for Youth Development Ireland is a partnership package from the Angling Council of Ireland and Inland Fisheries Ireland IFI,  where angling groups partner with local community groups in order to offer young people of all backgrounds the opportunity to go fishing.  For more details on how to get involved please visit www.afdyireland.ie

Report your catch and help preserve our Bass

Inland Fisheries Ireland calls on anglers to support bass conservation inland Fisheries Ireland has issued an appeal to bass anglers preparing for the season ahead to get involved in collecting information on bass in Irish waters for the National Bass Programme (NBP).

If you catch a bass with a yellow tag, or a fouled tag, please don’t remove it from the fish. Simply clean the tag and note the tag code (e.g. B-00001). If possible take the length and weight of the fish, and five scales from behind the pectoral fin, before you release the fish alive. Please send us the details, along with the date and location and your name and phone number by email or call IFI on 01-8842600. Information on the original bass tagging location and date will be provided to everybody who reports details to the IFI

In Ireland we have had preventative measures in place for the protection of Bass since the late 90’s. In order to continue with valuable research we ask our sea anglers to please support this survey to collect information on the bass in our waters.

The programme was established by IFI to collect data on bass to provide scientific advice to support management and conservation of Ireland’s bass resource. Bass anglers, as citizen scientists, have been collecting information for the NBP since 2013, thereby supporting bass stock assessment and increased understanding of the biology and ecology of bass in Irish waters.

To date, over 750 bass have been tagged and 3,000 adult bass scale samples have been collected. Scales are used to determine the age and growth rate of bass, while tagging provides information on migrations and habitat use. The likelihood of additional recaptures is increasing with greater numbers of tagged fish at sea. Tagging results so far have shown that bass were recaptured generally within a few kilometres of their original capture site but some have travelled up to 38 kilometres. Time at liberty has ranged from three to 298 days. By checking all bass for tags and reporting recaptures, anglers will help to discover additional information regarding movements of Irish bass.

Dr. Cathal Gallagher, Head of Research and Development, said: “Ireland has always been a pioneer in terms of bass conservation and is showing progressive thinking in bass management by using the expert knowledge of anglers to collect information that would otherwise not be obtainable. We call on anybody interested in promoting bass conservation to contact IFI for information on how to get involved. All support is much appreciated.

Dr. Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, added: “Bass is an extremely important and valuable marine sport angling species in Ireland. It is a particularly valuable national resource, contributing €71 million to the Irish economy annually and supporting over 1,200 jobs nationally.

Bass is an angling-only species so it is important that anglers, as guardians and custodians of this iconic sportfish, contribute information to support conservation orientated management. Some anglers are using voluntary logbooks to provide information on catches, angling effort, fish sizes and methods used. Scale sampling packs and logbooks are available from IFI and feedback on scales received will be provided to individual anglers outlining fish age, the year it was spawned and its growth rate.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has a dedicated email address to enable members of the public to report details on caught bass or to request information on how to support the National Bass Programme – bass@fisheriesireland.ie. IFI can also be contacted by phone on 01-8842600 during office hours.

Level One Angling Coach Programme Rolls Out!

After some time in the planning and with 300 assistant coaches on our books the Angling Council were pleased to deliver the first part of the two-part Level 1 Coach programme to certify as an Angling Coach in Ireland.

A selected panel of game, coarse and sea anglers came together for the first module delivered at Sports HQ in Blanchardstown on 6th February.

The Angling Council would like to acknowledge the help from Coaching Ireland with whom the programme was created and benchmarked with the likes of thee GAA, FAI, IRFU and up to 60 other sports. With particular thanks to Fiona Larkin and Liam Morgan for their continued support and invaluable advice. To Declan O’Leary who with many of the founding members of the Angling Council of Ireland put the entire concept of an Angling Coach pathway for Ireland together and made it a reality.

Details of how you too can gain this coaching qualification will be rolled out to our member federations soon.

Salmon Watch Ireland

Announce conference in Galway read more in salmon watch flyer

Next Introduction to Coaching Course

Greystones, Co. Wicklow on the 5th December 2015

AGM 2015 adopts changes to Constitution

At the recent Annual General Meeting of ACI a number of motions for constitutional change were unanimously adopted. these will have the effect of facilitating the growth of AFYDI within the Angling Council and will give constitutional authority to the election of an Anti doping Officer. The full text of the amended constitution is available below ACI CONSTITUTION _march 15_

VETTING FORM 2014 INSTRUCTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTICE
 Please be sure to use this version of the form – older versions will no longer be accepted by the Garda Vetting Unit – Vetting form 2014