A West Cork fisherman has been fined €4,000 plus costs after being found guilty on two counts of illegal fishing and the obstruction of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) officers.

Evidence in relation to the offences by Donal Healy — with an address in Castletownbere, Co Cork — was given before Judge James McNulty sitting at Bantry District Court on Wednesday 28 October.

The breaches of fisheries legislation occurred on 5 July 2019 off Quarry Point in Co Cork.

IFI officers outlined the facts of the case to the court and how Healy had been observed drift-net fishing with a monofilament net off Quarry Point.

Healy attempted to prevent fisheries officers from boarding his vessel on its return to Blackball Harbour by casting off and pulling away from the pier. But IFI officers managed to board the vessel at sea and seized the illegal 300-metre-long salmon drift net.

Judge McNulty imposed fines of €2,000 for illegal fishing and €2,000 for obstructing the fisheries officers, and Healy was ordered to pay a further €500 in costs to IFI.

Sean Long, director of the South Western River Basin District, said: “I would like to commend the fisheries protection officers’ vigilance, perseverance and continuous commitment to protecting migrating salmon on their journey back to their spawning grounds. Mr Healy’s selfish actions put into jeopardy the very survival of a protected species in Irish rivers.

“This conviction highlights the ongoing issue of illegal netting for salmon and our zero tolerance of this serious environmental crime.

“I urge members of the public to continue to report instances of illegal fishing, water pollution and invasive species by calling Inland Fisheries Ireland’s confidential hotline number on 1890 34 74 24 or 1890 FISH 24.”

A total of 35 projects engaged with introducing novices to angling have been granted funding this year to the tune of €140,000.

Applications for the ‘Angling for All’ fund were welcomed by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) from any group in Ireland engaged in encouraging novice anglers, for projects that support governance, education and safety in angling.

Four national projects are receiving funding, along with 31 regional projects including those by the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (NCFFI), Angling Council of Ireland (ACI), Salmon and Sea Trout Recreational Anglers of Ireland (SSTRAI) and Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs (IFPAC).

“The ‘Angling for All’ fund has been oversubscribed, reflecting the interest there is in angling countrywide,” said IFI’s head of business development Suzanne Campion.

“This financial investment of €140,000 will support the angling community directly to help make angling an accessible sport to novice angler of all backgrounds and abilities.

“The fund seeks to break down proven barriers to entering the sport and aims to improve governance, education and safety within angling stakeholder organisations.”

The full list of projects and initiatives receiving funding supported by the Dormant Accounts Fund can be found below:

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) says it welcomes the Environmental Protection Agency’s new report on urban waste water treatment in 2019.

Published this week, the EPA’s report criticises Irish Water over failure to meet pollution prevention standards at treatment facilities for 19 large towns and cities around Ireland.

Commenting on the report, IFI’s head of operations Dr Greg Forde said: “Continuing untreated discharges to waters around Ireland pose an unacceptable risk to the environment and public health.

“These untreated discharges are preventing the recovery of the biodiversity and ecology of significant rivers, estuaries and also where discharges go direct to the sea.

“It is unacceptable that many rivers are failing to recover due to persistent untreated discharges or overflow discharges where the capacity of treatment plants is inadequate to address growing populations.”

Dr Forde added that IFI is also concerned about the 35 predominantly coastal towns and villages without proper facilities for the treatment of sewage.

“It is not until 2022 that a significant number of these plants will come online,” he said.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, IFI has launched updated guidelines on ‘Planning for Watercourses in the Urban Environment’ which outline an integrated watercourse protection strategy.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has launched an update of its guideline document ‘Planning for Watercourses in the Urban Environment’.

It outlines an integrated watercourse protection strategy that has been developed by IFI through consultation with a wide range of experts in the area.

Watercourses including rivers, lakes and streams are an integral part of our environment — and if managed appropriately can significantly improve the quality of life for people living in urban areas, IFI says.

The strategy adopts a ‘four-step’ approach to watercourse protection planning which should not only protect watercourses and their associated riverside zones in urban areas, but also provide other benefits important for the wellbeing of people living nearby.

IFI chief executive Francis O’Donnell emphasises that both “nature-based catchment management” and “a holistic approach to addressing our biodiversity and climate challenges” are crucial for sustainable development going forward.

“These updated guidelines approach the issue of planning for watercourses in urban environments from a multi-stakeholder perspective and seek to maximise the significant co-benefits that will arise from adoption of a comprehensive, all-inclusive strategy,” he says.

“These benefits range from better water quality and more resilient and natural ecosystems to the well-established positive effects of nature and green areas for community wellbeing, recreation, health and recovery from serious illness and even reduced levels of antisocial behaviour.

“We hope these guidelines will be a useful resource for all of Irish society.”

Improving stocks of wild salmon and trout in the West of Ireland in the goal of a new initiative launched by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI).

Derek Evans writes in The Irish Times about IFI’s partnership with Co Galway angling federation Cairde an Chláir to restore a near kilometre-long stretch of the Abbert River, a tributary of the River Clare.

Earlier this year the two groups signed a memorandum of understanding on the conservation and development of brown trout and salmon and their habitat, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

While the coronavirus pandemic slowed progress over the year, IFI says the project is now at the stage where work on the river can begin — while a similar scheme to restore 8km of nursery streams such as the River Nanny is already under way.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

Inland Fisheries Ireland’s (IFI) education and outreach team have been working with Foróige to get young people angling with the Go Fishing programme.

Due to the latest public health-related restrictions on gatherings, the programme has now evolved into a “blended learning experience” that consists of a weekly online course over four weeks, followed by a local fishing trip.

Participants learn about Ireland’s inland fisheries and the benefits of angling, the biodiversity of our waterways, becoming a steward of our waterways and the environment, and the basics of angling.

IFI says the programme has been piloted with a number of Foróige groups nationwide since July. One of these was in Donegal, where a local Foróige group was taken shore fishing at Buncrana beach on Thursday 27 August.

The young participants learned how to set up a beach casting rod, attach a rig using the improved clinch knot, how to bait up using mackerel, razorfish, lug worm and use bait elastic.

The weather was reportedly “perfect for fishing” and the young anglers caught a number of dogfish. They went home at the end of the day with goodie bags and certificates of awareness having completed their course.

Foróige youth worker Orla Taylor says the IFI sessions were presented “in an engaging and well organised way, telling stories of catches and experiences they have had. This made it very real for the young people.

“The group loved the experience and are looking forward to trying more fishing.”

The online programme is designed for young people aged 12–17. Group numbers for the fishing trip are always in line with the prevailing public health advice, but up to 20 can partake in the online course.

With consideration of the current situation, all fishing field trips will now take place in 2021.

Lorraine O’Donnell, education and outreach officer at IFI, says: “We are delighted to now be able to offer an online course as part of the Go Fishing initiative.

“Being able to offer the course in an online capacity keeps the programme accessible at the current time and also means we are able to offer the programme to organisations like Foróige.

“We would like to invite any youth groups that would be interested in taking part in the new online course to please email [email protected] for more information.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland have been selected as joint winners of the Best Consultancy Partnership gong in the 2020 National Training Awards.

The award was given to IFI and the International Centre for Security Excellence (ICSE) for a QQI Level 6 conflict management course that both worked in collaboration to deliver to most of IFI’s operations staff in late 2018 and 2019.

IFI’s HR chief Roisin Bradley said: “Our operations staff work day and night in the field to protect and manage our fisheries resource. To support our staff to carry out vital work we must ensure they have the correct measures and training to enable them to work in a safe environment.

“This collaborative project between IFI and ICSE has been successful and the feedback from staff has been very positive. We are looking forward and excited to see where this journey takes us.

“I would like to congratulate our health and safety/accessibility officer Michael Cusack; Pia Fennell, our learning and organisational development manager; Sonia Peter, our HR officer; all the staff that helped along the way and the team at ICSE who created and managed the training and the process of rolling it out to staff.

“It is of utmost importance to IFI that staff can carry out the work that is necessary to protect our fisheries resource in the safest way possible.”

Tony O’Brien of ICSE added: “In my view all of the credit for this programme has to go the fisheries officers nationally who made it a success. It was a programme built by fisheries officers for their colleagues and the judges commented on the real desire by the teams to make their job better.

“The programme was successful because of the support, buy in and feedback from fisheries officers nationwide. Their hospitality and willingness to show us the challenges they face and their desire to overcome them set the tone for the whole programme.”

The National Training Awards are organised by the Irish Institute of Training and Development (IITD).

Anecdotal evidence suggests that coronavirus restrictions have been a boost to wild Atlantic salmon returns in Irish rivers this year, as SeafoodSource reports.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) says it is awaiting official data to support the suggestion that decreased predation over the last six months has allowed more wild salmon to cross the Atlantic and spawn in Irish rivers.

However, even with this potential boost, the overall trend for wild salmon numbers in Ireland is one of decline — the commercial fishery seeing a 35% drop between 2007 and 2019, while rod-and-line angling catches are down 2.4% year on year over the last two decades.

SeafoodSource has more on the story HERE.

A new funding scheme to support novice anglers of all ages and backgrounds is now open for applications.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) says the €120,000 ‘Angling for All’ fund will contribute between €2,000 and €5,000 for each qualifying project aimed at getting young and novice anglers involved in the sport and pastime.

Applications are invited from all angling clubs within the Republic of Ireland as well as angling representative bodies, local community groups and not-for-profits, and both existing and planned Angling For Youth Development Ireland (AFYDI) hubs.

“Angling is not just a sport; it can offer young people new experiences and opportunities,” says IFI’s Suzanne Campion. “It can also help develop a young person’s skills, self-confidence and motivation whilst promoting physical exercise and good health.”

The closing date is Tuesday 13 October and all applications must be submitted via the IFI website.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, IFI is also currently inviting submissions for its new Novice Angling Strategy, titled ‘Let’s Fish’, which is aimed at growing angling participation nationwide.

The board of Inland Fisheries Ireland has announced the appointment of Francis O’Donnell to the position of chief executive officer.

O’Donnell is currently director of the Western River Basin District. He will take up his new position in the coming weeks.

Prior to rejoining the inland fisheries service, O’Donnell was the CEO of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation. He has also worked with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is a statutory body operating under the aegis of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and was established under the Fisheries Act on 1st July 2010.

Its principal function is the protection and conservation of the inland fisheries resource.

IFI promotes supports, facilitates and advises the minister on the conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries, including sea angling. It also develops policy and national strategies relating to inland fisheries and sea angling and advises the minister on same.