#Angling - Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has put out a request for assistance in its new National Bass Programme.

IFI has established the National Bass Programme to collect data on bass in order to provide scientific advice to support management and conservation of Ireland’s bass resource.

Bass is Ireland’s only marine fish species which is managed for angling.

The programme is being developed to determine the status of bass stocks and also to improve understanding of their ecology and biology in Ireland for the long-term sustainability of the species.

All assistance with the National Bass Programme would be greatly appreciated. If you would be interested in sending bass scale samples, the IFI can provide you with a scale envelope pack.

Find out more about the National Bass Programme HERE.

#MarineWildlife - An angling kayaker has spoken of his surprise at being "stalked" by a basking shark off Donegal.

The Irish Times yesterday posted video of the close encounter captured by Graham Smith while paddling along the coast.

As Smith told the Irish Independent, he was only hoping to catch a tope shark when he came upon a school of basking sharks off the Inishowen Peninsula.

And when one of them started following him, Smith went into panic mode - but soon realised the shark was more interested in the slipstream of his kayak, which provided a steady source of plankton for the giant filter feeder.

The second biggest fish in the sea after the whale shark, basking sharks are now a regular sight in Irish waters, with protections on the endangered species resulting in a boom in numbers.

#Angling - Minister of State Fergus O'Dowd gave some words of encouragement ahead of the World Youth Fly Fishing Championships taking place this week till 26 July in venues across Louth, Monaghan, Meath, Tyrone and Antrim.  

The event will help to showcase the wonderful angling amenities on the island of Ireland, And with competitors all in the 14-18 age bracket, it will also promote the wonderful sport of recreational angling to young people.

Minister Fergus O'Dowd, who attended the launch of the event, encouraged the youthful competitors and marvelled at their ability to "take challenges in their stride at such a young age and compete wholeheartedly and sportingly". 

The minister also acknowledged the important economic and social impact angling has on rural communities, bringing much needed revenue and jobs.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) chief Dr Ciaran Byrne added that the national fisheries body is "delighted to be the main sponsor of this prestigious event.

"IFI, through its sponsorship scheme, aims to promote youth angling but also ensure best practice, and in that regard IFI is providing the biosecurity measures for this competition."

Along with IFI, the Loughs Agency, DCAL, Fáilte Ireland and local businesses are supporting the great work of the organising committee under the guidance of  the Leinster and Ulster councils of the Trout Angling Federation of Ireland. The competition is a cross-border initiative run under the regulation of FIPS Mouche.

#Angling - Minister of State for Natural Resources Fergus O’Dowd has warmly welcomed the findings of a new national economic study that reveals for the first time that angling and angling tourism in Ireland are generating a dividend in excess of €0.75 billion within the Irish economy every year.

The study, commissioned by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), shows direct spending on angling in Ireland amounted to €555 million in 2012, with indirect spending worth an additional €200 million and totalling €755 million. 

Recreational angling was also found to directly support 10,000 existing Irish jobs, many of which are located in the most peripheral and rural parts of the Irish countryside and along our coastline.

The study - titled a Socio-Economic Study of Recreational Angling in Ireland - found that 406,000 people were involved in recreational angling in Ireland last year, with over 150,000 of these travelling from Northern Ireland and overseas.

Over a quarter of a million Irish adults (252,000) held a fishing rod last year with sea angling along with salmon and brown trout angling seen as the most popular categories where domestic anglers are concerned.

The quality of the Irish angling product, the friendliness and hospitality of the Irish people and our outstanding scenery were cited amongst the principal attractions of Ireland as an international destination for recreational angling. Tourism angling spend is estimated at approximately €280 million on an annual basis.

Speaking at the launch of the study at the Royal College of Physicians on Kildare Street, Minister O'Dowd admitted that the findings had come as a surprise, as this was the first national survey which was able to put a value on angling to the economy and that up till now the economic significance of the sector had been greatly underestimated. 

The minister said the study not only highlighted to him the major economic impact that angling makes to the Irish economy, but it also underlined the need to continue to protect and nurture this valuable resource, if it is to be allowed to develop and grow to achieve its full potential.

“The results contained in this report are significant,” he said. “Angling, as a recreational pursuit, is a major contributor to the fabric of Irish life in all parts of the country, particularly in rural and peripheral areas.

"From the industry perspective, the strategic development and marketing of our angling product is essential and has been given new impetus in light of what we now know about the visiting and spending patterns of anglers and what is important in drawing them here.

He added that it is "equally clear to me that maintaining a strong focus on the protection and conservation of this vital resource into the future is absolutely key if we are to properly sustain and grow these benefits to anglers, angling businesses and the Irish economy.”

The study, commissioned by IFI in early 2012 and undertaken by consultants Tourism Development International, was undertaken to help underpin effective strategic planning and decision making in respect of the angling product’s development and marketing.

IFI chief Dr Ciaran Byrne commented at the launch that the national fisheries agency “will now review the results of the survey in conjunction with our stakeholders. Clearly fish stocks and fish habitat must be conserved, protected and developed. Angling businesses must be given every opportunity to win business and secure and grow the jobs within the sector.

"IFI is committed to these goals and together with our stakeholders and the support of Government, state agencies and a new angling marketing and development plan we will achieve them.”


The study is available to download from the IFI website HERE.

#Angling - The use of prawns and shrimp as bait in salmon angling could be banned in Northern Ireland under proposed restrictions on salmon and sea trout fishing, as Farming Life reports.

Aside from the bait regulations, Stormont is also putting forward a ban on commercial salmon netting and the introduction of a catch-and-release scheme for sport anglers in an effort to reverse dwindling salmon numbers in Ulster's inland waterways.

The moves come following an earlier voluntary ban on offshore salmon fishing in an effort to bolster wild salmon stocks which were last year feared to be "around dodo levels".

Similar restrictions were proposed this year for the River Suir - although anglers in Enniscorthy won support from Inland Fisheries Ireland last year in their call to lift a shrimp bait ban on their downstream fishery on the River Slaney.

Ulster Angling Federation chair Jim Haughey has urged angling club officials across Northern Ireland to study the consultation document published by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure with a view to making informed submissions on the proposed changes.

Farming Life has much more on the story HERE.

#Angling - Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is seeking the help of anglers and the general public to report any sightings of distressed fish due to high water temperatures or low water levels. 

The national fisheries body also requests that anglers voluntarily cease using keep nets during this period, so as not to cause unintentional distress to fish kept for long periods in these nets.

Reports may be made to the local fisheries offices or the 24-hour hotline number on 1890 34 74 24. 

IFI staff will continue to monitor canals, lakes and rivers for any signs of distressed fish in shallow water, but may be able to react more quickly to timely reports received.

"Low water levels and high water temperatures may lead to fish kills," said IFI chief Dr Ciaran Byrne, "and as the temperatures for salmon and trout are perilously hot at the moment, fish kills may be unavoidable. In many instances, moving fish may also prove too stressful. 

"Anglers practicing catch and release during this hot spell may wish to consider desisting from fishing until conditions are more favourable."

Minister Fergus O'Dowd also urged anglers and the public to "please be vigilant and help conserve our wonderful inland fisheries resource".

Local Fisheries Offices contacts:

• IFI Swords – 01 884 2600
• IFI Limerick – 061 300 238
• IFI Blackrock – 01 278 7022
• IFI Galway – 091 563 118
• IFI Clonmel – 052 618 0055
• IFI Ballina – 096 22788
• IFI Macroom – 026 41222
• IFI Ballyshannon – 071 985 1435

#Angling - The World Youth Fly Fishing Championship is coming to Ireland's border region next month.

And as the Carrick Times reports, Carrickfergus in Co Antrim is looking forward to hosting part of the event at the Woodford Fly Fishery.

What's more, local lad and Woodford member Darren Crawford will be among the all-Ireland fly fishing squad vying for the international title at the event, co-sponsored by the Loughs Agency and Inland Fisheries Ireland.

Rivers and lakes hosting the competition are spread over the counties of Antrim, Louth, Monaghan, Meath and Tyrone.

In other inland fisheries news, Galway Bay FM reports that testing carried out after a fish kill in Loughrea Lake last month found no evidence of any bacterial or viral outbreak.

The cause of the incident that killed 100 perch in the lake are still unclear, though stresses connected with the spawning season are a distinct possibility.

#Angling - Ireland's recreational angling sector generates more than half a billion euro annually, according to the Minister for Natural Resources.

As the Irish Examiner reports, Minister Pat Rabbitte revealed the significant figure in a written response to a Dáil question by Tommy Broughan TD, who requested a breakdown of the number of people participating in all forms of angling in the State.

The minister went on to confirm that the angling industry "sustainably supports more than 10,000 jobs... particularly in the West of Ireland".

Minister Rabbitte's announcement comes ahead of the pending publication of an Inland Fisheries Ireland study on Ireland's angling sector. Afloat.ie will have the latest on that when it appears.

Elsewhere in Ireland, the Belfast Telegraph reports that a man has been found guilty of a number of fisheries offences at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

Derek Ferguson of Larne was fined a total of £225 (€265) for unlicensed angling, unauthorised entry to fisheries and using unlawful angling methods.

#Shannon - Passages on the River Shannon in 2013 so far have fallen more than 50% compared to numbers for the same period a decade ago, according to the Irish Waterways History blog written by Afloat's inland correspondent, Brian Goggin.

Using statistics supplied by Waterways Ireland, the site plotted a graph that shows an overall decline in lock and bridge passages on the Shannon in the months from January to May each year since 2003, with a slight spike in 2007 the only buck in the downward trend.

Though the figures do not record all uses of the waterway (such as sailing, angling and other watersports) and do not account for variables such as the weather, they are indicative - the site claims - of "the Shannon's most significant tourism activity, the cruiser hire business".

Indeed, the figures apparently show that boat hire passage numbers have fallen from 11,440 in January-May 2003 to just 4,781 in the same months this year.

Even private boat passages have been falling from a peak in 2009 to just below their 2003 numbers, if the site's interpretation of the stats is anything to go by.

However, a source close to Afloat.ie says that the falling numbers may be skewed by a growing emphasis on larger-capacity vessels on Ireland's inland waterways, with eight- and 12-berth boats supplanting older four-berth vessels, and families and groups consolidating their recreational boating.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year turns out, and whether the overall numbers from January to December will tell a different story of the state of the Shannon and other waterways.

#Fishing - The growing black market for coarse fish in eastern Europe is being blamed for an increase in illegal fishing on Ireland's inland waterways.

That's the situation according to the Sunday Independent, which also highlights the "major problem" of salmon poaching by "Irish criminals".

Last month Afloat.ie reported on the prosecution of two Lithuanian brothers who were fined for illegal coarse angling on Lough Derg.

And the Independent says a number of similar cases are due to be heard before Irish courts over the coming months.

Meanwhile, poaching of salmon is hitting the headlines across the country - from the south, where two men were recently prosecuted for illegal fishing of spawning salmon in Co Limerick, to the north, where intimidation of fisheries staff is reportedly a problem.

In better fisheries news, The Guardian says cod stocks in the North Sea could be in for a revival, after a survey by the Marine Stewardship Council and others suggested that effective management could soon see the species certified as 'sustainable'.