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NEWS
FOR "OCTOBER 2004"
FROM THE IRISH FEDERATION OF PIKE ANGLING CLUBS
EURPOEAN ANGLING ALLIANCE - WEST REGION NEWS
A meeting of the West Region of EAA took place in the offices of
the Salmon & Trout Association, Fishmongers Hall, London on Thursday
2nd September at 2:00 pm. Fred Bloot and Jan Willem Wijnstroom,
Holland, Tony Williams, UK and John Crudden, Ireland attended the
meeting.
Issues discussed included financial matters, statutes of the EAA,
subscription schemes, EAA strategies and region reports. A number
of items of general interest reported on within the meeting follow:
Migrating Species
The meeting was informed on the successful NASCO meeting in Iceland
in June and the part played by the NGO's in having a root and branch
review of the organisation undertaken. As a result a working group
was established which would hold its first meeting in early October.
A three-person delegation of NGO's is invited to attend. Two of
the members will be Chris Poupard and Bjornulf Kristiansen. This
meeting was asked to select the third member. John Crudden was proposed
and seconded however he declined as he felt he was not sufficiently
informed on the subject and he felt that the third NGO should be
nominated by the salmon angling bodies in either the UK or Ireland.
The meeting accepted this argument. In Ireland the Government has
reacted to the serious decline in commercial catches of salmon by
introducing restrictions on rod angling to one salmon per person
per day during September. This in effect put the blame for the decline
at the door of the recreational sector, which has reacted angrily
to this. A new campaign has been launched, "Stop salmon driftnets
now", which has the support of all the national game angling organisations,
the fishery owners and tourism interests. EAA has been asked for
and given its support for the campaign. See www.stopnow.ie. There
is an expectation that this campaign will finally end the commercial
driftnet fishery.
Rivers Sub-group
NVVS reported its continued disappointment with the manner
in which the Board handled the "Rivers vision". The view was expressed
that if initiatives were not supported financially it would be the
end of the sub-groups. They proposed two options for the publication
of the "vision". They ask the Board to find the money to produce
it or they publish it themselves and sell it. It was pointed out
that option two could pose a serious financial risk for them if
nobody bought it. Their preferred option was number one. It was
also proposed that the Board should look at the amalgamation of
the Rivers group and Migrating Species group as there was considerable
overlap. NVVS would cease to undertake the secretarial function
of the sub-group at the General Assembly in 2005 and asks the Board
to find a replacement country to do it.
Sea Sub-group
A short report of the Sea-sub-group was read to the meeting. It
was decided to defer any discussion on it or the North Sea RAC to
the Sea Sub-group meeting the following day to avoid duplicity.
The view was expressed that all sub-groups should have a "vision".
Cormorants
A new INTERCAFE project has been approved under the COST programme.
25 countries have expressed interest in taking part with 11 having
signed up. EAA has applied for participation and have been granted
observer status. The first meeting takes place in the COST building
on 20th/21st September.
Eels
Holland reported two initiatives to halt the decline of eel.
The Dutch Presidency has put it on the agenda of the next Council
of Ministers meeting and a national debate takes place in October
with the commercial sector. A decision on how to reverse the decline
is expected in November. In the UK the Government has introduced
a ban on commercial fishing in the Norfolk area. In Ireland a 4-year
study has just been concluded. The study found that there was a
slight decline over the period however it was not as pronounced
as elsewhere in Europe. A number of reasons were put forward for
this namely less commercial pressure along with a ban on the catching
of elvers. Another reason cited was the longer time period it takes
the fish to grow because Irish waters are colder.
Water Framework Directive
In Holland a joint publication between sport fishing interests,
the commercial sector and water interests will shortly be produced.
In Ireland the recreational angling sector has not as yet gained
consultative status. A big worry is the methods that will be employed
to carry out the fish-based assessments. The use of Nordic gill
nets will pose a problem. As the evaluation of these methods is
still ongoing it might be possible to lobby.
Ireland - National Report
Ireland proposes to host the General Assembly in 2006. The venue
is not yet decided but is likely to be held in either Dublin or
Cork. A review of freshwater fisheries has been carried out on behalf
of the Government. No decisions will be announced until after an
autumn reshuffle of the cabinet. Considerable progress has been
made in bringing all national angling bodies together in an Angling
Council of Ireland. Office space with secretarial services will
soon become available at reasonable cost and it will have financial
support from the Sports Council.
New EAA Structure
Holland proposes that the Board should look at the creation a new
structure to replace the present regional structure. It proposed
that it would closely follow the ICES sea areas to be used in the
RAC's. The UK proposes a slight variation on this, a combination
of sea areas together with River Basin Districts in mainland Europe.
Conclusion
The meeting was considered to be very successful and the assistance
and hospitality of the Salmon & Trout Association and its staff
was acknowledged.
ANGLING COUNCIL OF IRELAND
On Wednesday the 25th of August last, the Irish Federation of Pike
Angling Clubs (I.F.P.A.C.) and the Federation of Irish Salmon and
Sea Trout Anglers (F.I.S.S.T.A.) officially joined the Angling Council
of Ireland.
This now brings the number of National Federations in the Council
to five. The Founding members were the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers
(I.F.S.A.) Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland (T.A.F.I.) and the
National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (N.C.F.F.I.). There
are many issues, which impact on the quality of angling available
in Ireland and it is hoped that a working partnership between these
Federations will form a strong lobby group, something that Irish
angling is strongly in need of.
MAVER ALL-IRELAND JUNIOR PIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Only 9 anglers took part in the eight and final qualifier, which
took place in Rossmore Park on 22nd of August. The largest fish
of the day was caught by Cormac Watterson, at 6lb 8oz.
The anglers who qualified for the final were as follows:
Under 18
1st Darren Tierney 1 fish for 8oz
Under 13
1st Cormac Watterson, Monaghan 1 fish for 6lb 8oz
2nd Ciara Fallon, North Longford 2 fish for 2lb 8oz
3rd Declan Meehan, North Longford 1 fish for 1lb4 oz
The final of the 'Maver' junior pike championship took place on
the 19th September. A full report will be given, next month. For
further details on the junior championship, contact Youth Officer
Finbar Meehan on 086 0711137.
KINGSPAN NATIONAL PIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 2004-05
60 anglers fished the qualifier, which was held on Lough Avaghon
in County Monaghan. Only 35 fish were caught in the flat calm conditions.
The anglers who qualified for the final next April were:
1st Alan Heasley, Drogheda, 4 fish for 20lb 4oz
2nd Jim Slevin, Keady, 4 fish for 17lb 6oz
3rd Jimmy Thompsom, Dublin, 1 fish for 8lb 4oz
4th Paul Hamill, Monaghan, 2 fish for 7lb 10oz
5th Anthony Muldoon, Belfast, 3 fish for 6lb 9oz
The heaviest pike was Jimmy Thompson's fish of 8lb 4oz.
The results of the seventh qualifier, which was scheduled for the
10th October on the River Shannon, Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly will
be reported on, next month. The eight qualifier will take place
on 7th November on Camlough, Co. Armagh.
For further details on the Kingspan National Pike Championship,
contact John Chambers on 086 6057306 or Ibar Condron on 087 2488648.
INTERNATIONAL PIKE CHALLENGE
The Ireland versus Great Britain International challenge match was
scheduled to take place on the second and third of this month. The
base for the match was Roscommon Town with the River Suck as the
chosen venue, dependant upon the weather. There have been 12 matches
over the years and the current results lie in Ireland's favour with
eight wins to Great Britain's four. The matches are based on a two-day
event. The first day is a pegged two-rod match and the second day
is a one-rod roaming. The total bag weights are added up at the
end of the second day.
The Irish ten-man team is chosen each year from the final of the
Kingspan National Pike Championship. This year the top ten anglers
were captained by the 2003/2004 National pike champion Brenton Sweeney.
Traditionally, Irish teams have faired well in the challenges, with
our success stemming from our ability to master sink and draw tactics.
However, British anglers have watched closely over the years and
have gained ground in the use of sink and draw as part of their
repertoire. This has left recent Irish teams with the challenge
of having to master the sit and wait tactics of the first day, not
an easy task for anglers who prefer to keep on the move. I will
give a full report on the challenge match, next month.
October 2005
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