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Displaying items by tag: John Quinlan

The chairman of the Irish Bass Group gave his praise to the fish described as the 'wolf of the sea' at a recent awards day.
John Quinlan told his audience at the Irish Specimen Fish Committee awards that Ireland has "something truly unique" in a marine fish that is reserved for recreational angling.
He also noted that "in spite of 21 years of bass protection, we have never felt secure enough to build the type of industry that this unique opportunity should justify."
Quinlan explained how bass play "a vital role" in the biodiversity of our inland waters, highlighting the interdependence between bass and sea birds.
“There are still magic days to be had bass fishing," he said, adding his belief that "anglers have a right to be involved in the management of our bass stocks".
He continued: "We have looked after them very well over the last 21 years and earned the right to be involved in any decisions about how they should be managed in the future. If we are to be successful we need to be taken more seriously by our Government."
Quinlan pointed to the potential benefits of angling tourism, an area that "has been lacking for far too long".
“The French call bass ‘loupe de mer’ or ‘the wolf of the sea’," he added. "These beautiful fish have hunted in our waters for centuries and I hope they continue to do so for many years to come.”
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

The chairman of the Irish Bass Group gave his praise to the fish described as the 'wolf of the sea' at a recent angling awards day.

John Quinlan told his audience at the Irish Specimen Fish Committee awards that Ireland has "something truly unique" in a marine fish that is reserved for recreational angling.

He also noted that "in spite of 21 years of bass protection, we have never felt secure enough to build the type of industry that this unique opportunity should justify."

Quinlan explained how bass play "a vital role" in the biodiversity of our inland waters, highlighting the interdependence between bass and sea birds.

“There are still magic days to be had bass fishing," he said, adding his belief that "anglers have a right to be involved in the management of our bass stocks".

He continued: "We have looked after them very well over the last 21 years and earned the right to be involved in any decisions about how they should be managed in the future. If we are to be successful we need to be taken more seriously by our Government."

Quinlan pointed to the potential benefits of angling tourism, an area that "has been lacking for far too long".

“The French call bass ‘loupe de mer’ or ‘the wolf of the sea’," he added. "These beautiful fish have hunted in our waters for centuries and I hope they continue to do so for many years to come.” 

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Angling

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U