Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is hosting an online webinar this  Thursday evening 15 September as part of the public consultation process for the Great Western Lakes Management Plan.

Since the public consultation was launched in August, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, IFI has organised six in-person open evenings where members of the public had the opportunity to drop in and meet an IGI representative, discuss the draft plan, seek clarification or ask questions.

In particular, IFI has urged the angling community and anyone who uses the lakes or lives near them to make a submission.

Those with an interest in the draft plan, who weren’t able to attend an open evening, are now being invited to register online to attend the webinar from 7pm to 8.30pm on Thursday 15 September, five days before the public consultation closes at 5pm next Tuesday 20 September.

Those planning to attend this webinar are being advised to familiarise themselves with the contents of the draft plan and the associated FAQ.

A public consultation on the long-term management of the Great Western Lakes is now under way.

And Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is urging all interested parties, especially the angling community and anyone who uses the lakes or lives near them, to make a submission.

IFI has developed a draft plan for the long-term management of the seven lakes that comprise the Great Western Lakes: Lough Corrib, Lough Mask and Lough Carra in Co Galway, Lough Conn and Lough Cullin in Co Mayo, Lough Arrow in counties Sligo and Roscommon, and Lough Sheelin in Cavan, Meath and Westmeath,

This draft plan aims to address some of the many factors that impact on the ecological wellbeing and status of native fish stocks.

The lakes have long been designated, as a matter of policy, to be managed primarily as wild brown trout waters. Therefore, the proposed management programmes for these lakes will protect, conserve and, where possible, enhance the lakes’ natural attributes and native biodiversity.

In turn, IFI says, this would optimise the lakes’ potential as sustainable wild brown trout fisheries and, in some cases, Atlantic salmon fisheries. Other species such as eels, Artic char and Ferox trout are also reflected in the draft plan.

“It’s clear to see that all seven lakes share a series of pressures which are impacting on their ecosystem stability and native fish stocks. These include declining water quality, fisheries habitat loss, invasive species and the detrimental effects of climate change,” says IFI’s Suzanne Campion.

“These issues will be tackled through the various measures proposed in this draft plan. That is why the public consultation process is such an incredibly important step, as it gives the public the perfect opportunity to have their say.”

The draft plan is available from the IFI website or by visiting IFI’s offices in Galway, Ballina or Limerick.

The deadline for making a submission is 5pm on Tuesday 20 September. Anyone making a submission is encouraged to use the online questionnaire which will guide them through the headings of the plan.

In addition, a series of open evenings will take place during the consultation period where members of the public can discuss, seek clarification and ask questions on the draft plan with IFI representatives. Details of these events will be announced shortly.

Campion added: “We are urging anyone with an interest in the Great Western Lakes, especially anglers, other users of the lakes or those that live nearby, to read the draft plan and have their say by making a written submission online before the September 20th deadline.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) proposes to draft a scheme in accordance with Section 11 of the Official Languages Act 2003, which aims to ensure better availability and a higher standard of public services through Irish.

The State agency with responsibility for the protection and conservation of freshwater fish and habitats now wishes to invite representations in relation to the preparation of the draft scheme from any interested parties.

Submissions should be addressed to [email protected]. Alternatively, they may be posted to: Irish Language Scheme Public Consultation, Inland Fisheries Ireland, 3044 Lake Drive, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, D24 CK66.

Information in relation to the mandate and role/services provided to the public by IFI is available on www.fisheriesireland.ie.

The latest date for receipt of representations is Wednesday 6 July.

IFI asks those making submissions to hindly note that:

1. Everyone who takes part in an IFI consultation will be notified of the final document emerging from the consultation process.
2. The names of respondents and their submissions will be published on IFI’s website at the end of each consultation process (ie at the time the document arising from the consultation is published). Any further information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘Personal data ‘as defined under Article 4 of GDPR) will be redacted prior to publication on the IFI website.
3. IFI is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and therefore has to consider any request made to it under that Act. IFI will provide advice as follows: ‘If you consider that any part of your submission would be subject to any of the statutory exclusions under that Act please so indicate in your submission, specifying under which exemption you believe the content should be excluded.’

All personal data that IFI may use is collected, processed and held in accordance with the provisions of EU Regulation 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

A version of this notice in Irish is available on the IFI website HERE.

Sailors and sailing clubs around Ireland have an opportunity to make their voices heard on the hosting of major sporting events in Ireland via a new public consultation.

The main objectives of this consultation — consisting of five multiple choice questions — are to seek views and understand people’s attitudes towards major international sports events, and the role of Government in supporting them. It will also assist in the development of a policy to underpin a subsequent strategy.

“It is the Government’s intention to bring a more strategic approach to the bidding for major events, to maximise the benefits and to work towards making Ireland a destination for Major International Sports Events,” Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers said.

“I look forward to reading the responses from a wide range of the Irish public and I particularly hope to hear from national governing bodies of sport, other major event stakeholders and all those involved with sport in Ireland.”

While it comes on the heels of the recent disappointment for Cork losing its America’s Cup bid, it’s also a chance to emphasise Ireland’s potential based on the success of events previously staged here and already planned.

From the ISAF Youth Worlds in 2012 to the Laser Euros and World Championships and even the Tall Ships Races, and venues from Dun Laoghaire to Howth to Cork hosting world-class events, Ireland has a proven track record in welcoming the globe to our doorstep arguably more than any other sport.

And this year is no exception, as our own WM Nixon recently outlined a bumper summer of events with international import.

The consultation is available on the Gov.ie website and remains open until Thursday 26 May.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has opened a public consultation on Ireland’s Marine Strategy.

They’re inviting observations, views and comments on the review and development of Ireland’s Marine Strategy Part 3: Programme of Measures, under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC).

Ireland’s Programme of Measures will be developed to ensure we have clean, healthy, biologically diverse and sustainably used marine waters.

Scientists around the world conclude that the health of the ocean, including the North Atlantic, is at risk and that action is needed to address the loss of biodiversity and the functioning of the marine ecosystems. Challenges include:

• pollution
• over-exploitation of living resources
• incidental by-catch
• non-indigenous species
• underwater noise
• damage to the seabed

Marine litter, including microplastics, continues to blight our seas and cause impacts on the marine environment.

Climate change is also causing fundamental and possibly irreversible changes to the ocean. These changes include warming of the sea, rising sea levels and loss of oxygen. Increased levels of carbon dioxide are also causing the ocean to become more acidic.

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the mechanism by which EU member states set policy on the marine environment and, amongst other things, take action to tackle these challenges. Within the directive this is known as good environmental status (GES).

Core to the work of achieving the goal of good environmental status is ensuring that interested parties (the public, stakeholders, maritime sectors and others) have the chance to participate in the process.

This consultation forms part of that participation and focuses specifically on the measures Ireland intends to put in place to achieve good environmental status.

In 2020, Ireland updated its environmental targets from 2013 to describe what a healthy sea should look like. The actions (known as the programme of measures, or PoM) that Ireland proposes to put in place are designed to meet these targets.

These environmental targets form part of the National Marine Planning Framework and through its implementation aim to ensure that human activity is at sustainable levels and that the ecosystem is protected.

One measure, which is specifically required under the directive, is the development of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Stand-alone legislation to enable the identification, designation and management of MPAs in accordance with Ireland’s national and international commitments is ongoing.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is inviting consultation on the revision of the PoM to give everyone the chance propose new measures to sustain and improve the health of our seas.

Their online survey can be found HERE and the deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday 20 May 20.

The full notice for this public consultation can be found on the Gov.ie website HERE.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is seeking submissions from interested parties in respect of a proposed new angling bye-law which would set a minimum length and bag limit for trout caught and retained from Lough Lene.

At present there is no minimum length size for any trout caught and retained by rod and line on Lough Lene in Collinstown, Co Westmeath — nor is there any bag limit for trout.

The draft bye-law aims to assist with the sustainable management of the fishery by limiting the numbers of trout, of all sizes, being taken from the lake.

It aims to set a minimum length of 36cm (14 inches) a bag limit of not more than two per day for trout caught and retained on the waters of Lough Lene.

All submissions must be received in writing. Please be aware that all submissions received by IFI will be published on its website.

In addition, IFI is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1997 and therefore has to consider any request made to it under that act.

If you consider that any part of your submission would be subject to any of the statutory exclusions under that act, this should be indicated in your submission, specifying under which exemption you believe the content should be excluded.

IFI will make every effort to comply fully with the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 and the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC

Submissions should be clearly marked ‘ERBD Byelaw Consultation’ and sent by post to the Director, Inland Fisheries Ireland Dublin, 3044 Lake Drive, Citywest, Dublin 24 or alternatively by email to [email protected].

The public consultation period opened earlier this week and the closing date for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Tuesday 22 February.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is seeking submissions in relation to a proposal to restrict the commercial salmon draft net season on the Loughros estuary in Co Donegal in 2022 to fishing between 1 and 21 July.

The proposed changes are to reflect the limited overall salmon quota available for 2022 and the number of commercial draft nets available.

An overall surplus of 340 salmon has been advised for 2022 to be divided between the commercial draft net and recreational angling sectors.

The commercial draft net season for the fishery normally opens on 12 May and closes on 31 July.

A copy of the draft proposed bye-law is available for public inspection at the IFI offices in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal as well as on the IFI website HERE.

Any person wishing to make observations on the proposed regulation may make submissions before 5pm on Friday 18 February, either by email to [email protected] or to the address below:

Loughros estuary Commercial Salmon draft net fishing season 2021 Public Consultation,
Inland Fisheries Ireland,
Station Road, Ballyshannon,
Co Donegal
F94 WV76

There’s still time to make submissions in the public consultation on two Pathway Action Plans for the control of invasive species on Ireland’s waterways.

According to the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s Invasives.ie programme, the purpose of Pathway Action Plans (PAPs) is to raise public awareness as well as to set out actions to prevent unintentional introductions by minimising the contamination of goods, commodities, vehicles and equipment by invasive species, and ensuring appropriate checks at EU borders.

Currently two PAPs related to Ireland’s coastal areas and waterways are under development, one for angling and the other for recreational boating and watercraft.

Both plans aim to survey stakeholders on awareness of biosecurity measures, and engage on what actions can be employed to enhance protections against the spread of invasive species here.

In particular, the PAP for angling emphasises the promotion of ‘Check, Clean, Dry’ principles to control the cross-contamination of water sources.

And the PAP for recreational boating calls for boatyards and marinas to invest in the appropriate facilities to contain the runoff from wash-down procedures, especially when removing anti-foul.

Both draft plans can be downloaded from the Invasives.ie website. Comments on the PAPs must be submitted before Tuesday 1 February through the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s dedicated consultation email address at [email protected].

Offaly County Council is calling on the public to have their say on the Banagher Marina Master Plan in an online consultation.

It’s hoped that projects arising from the master plan will help to reposition Banagher Marina as a tourism draw on the Grand Canal, offer new opportunities to local businesses and improve the experience of living in and around the town for local residents.

The council says the project is “one element of a larger regeneration plan for the town and is being led by a multidisciplinary team of experienced architects, engineers, planners and tourism consultants”.

It adds: “Help us develop a master plan for Banagher Marina and environs to create an area that everyone will love.”

The online consultation is open for submissions until Tuesday 14 December.

Wicklow County Council chief executive Frank Curran is resigning in January to take up the CEO position at Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, as the Wicklow People reports.

Curran is a former chief executive of Leitrim County Council and has welcomed waterside projects both there and also in Wicklow since taking up the latter post in September 2017.

He moves to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown upon the launch of the local authority’s Draft County Development Plan 2022-2028, which among other things aims to create “synergies between the town centre and the waterfront” in Dun Laoghaire.

Proposed amendments to the draft plan are currently on display for public inspection at County Hall in Dun Laoghaire and DLRCoCo’s offices in Dundrum until Thursday 9 December. Submissions must be made no later than that date. For more details see the draft plan portal HERE.