For the first time ever, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) launches a virtual Go Fishing Week — a national celebration of angling with a programme of online events taking place.
Running from Sunday 25 April to Monday 3 May, Go Fishing Week provides an opportunity to connect with people across the country to encourage them to try fishing by making information accessible to all.
The programme of events will spread awareness of a series of themes during the course of the week, including sustainability, protecting habitats and wellbeing benefits.
IFI chief executive Francis O’Donnell said: “This year Go Fishing Week aims to encourage people to learn more about angling while also having important conversations around sustainable fishing, climate change and the cultural significance of our inland waters here in Ireland.
“We are delighted this year to be able to bring our events into a virtual capacity and make them accessible to everyone by doing so. From webinars, podcasts and videos to virtual competitions we hope that people of all ages will get involved and join us in celebrating Go Fishing Week 2021.”
All events will be free to join but registration may be required. Some of those scheduled for the week include:
- Specimen Fish: Join the Irish Specimen Fish Committee in a webinar to learn all about specimen fish and the records of Irish specimen fish. The webinar will take place on Sunday 25 April.
- Free a Flounder: Watch a video to show you how to safely remove a hook from a flounder and release it back into the water.
- Safety on the Water: Join a webinar on all things around how to be safe around water especially as we come into the peak angling season and raise awareness of safety among all new anglers.
As part of the event, IFI is also running a video competition. ‘Why I Love to Fish’ is an initiative to get more people to spread the word about fishing by sharing a short video clip of their angling adventures online and telling the world what angling means to them.
To learn more about what is happening and how you can get involved, visit the IFI website and catch up with social media updates in the run-up to the week on Facebook and Twitter.
