NEWS FOR "APRIL 2004"
FROM THE IRISH FEDERATION OF PIKE ANGLING CLUBS

The Annual General Meeting of the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs took place in the Greville Arms hotel in Mullingar on Sunday 7th March. 37 delegates representing 24 affiliated clubs attended the meeting, the poorest attended AGM for many years, which we hope is a reflection that the members are happy with the committee's handling of the affairs of the organisation. The meeting heard reports of the various activities attended to in the past year.

CHAIRMANS ADDRESS

The chairman addressed the meeting and thanked the committee for their continued support and hard work, which they had undertaken during the year. The chairman thanked the Secretary, John Crudden in particular for his efforts throughout the year in providing reports on all matters relating to the Federation both on National issues and on the European Anglers Alliance and for the many meetings attended on Federation business. Finbar Meehan, Youth Officer was thanked for the professionalism that was shown in organising and running a successful National Junior pike championship. The chairman highlighted some of the items that took up a lot of time throughout the year. In terms of the Pike policy review, the presentation of our submission to the Pike policy review group in January 2003 was followed up by a number of meetings and also by attending a workshop held in June 2003 to elaborate on our submission. The recommendations of the review group had gone to the Regional Boards in the last number of months and the Central Fisheries Board was in receipt of their comments. The chairman indicated that the recommendations where now on their way to the Minister but unfortunately they contained no guarantee of an end to gillnetting. The chairman stated that while there was some positive aspects to the recommendations, the lack of commitment to end the use of gillnets had led to the Federations rejection of the report. The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board coarse angling permit was discussed and the chairman outlined our fundamental reasons for boycotting the waters where the permit had been introduced. The Federation had been in close contact with the Shrfb in the weeks leading up to the AGM and it was felt the board had come a long way in terms of ending it's policy of gillnetting. The Federation had been involved in the Review of Inland Fisheries during the year and had forwarded a submission to FGS consultants. It was the general feeling that the Fisheries Boards would cease to exist in another two years. The issue of insurance had taken up considerable time throughout the year and had been a source of some difficulty. The Federation recognised that the existing premiums where quite high at 4 Euro Per member and due to ongoing deliberations on the issue, the Federation were now in a position to offer 1.75 Euro Per member. In terms of the lower number of clubs affiliated to the Federation, it was felt that a number of clubs although having started enthusiastically had now ceased operating.

SECRETARY'S REPORT

The secretary gave an account of the ever increasing work carried out by the committee and the number of meetings attended. The main areas of interest were insurance, the Shannon permit issue, the review of pike policy by the CFB, the Water Framework Directive and the Nitrates Directive. Insurance was a major headache. The distribution and collection of the questionnaire and the copying and distribution of the safety statement took up a lot of time. A lot of correspondence was entered into between the three Federations involved in the joint policy. We were particularly unhappy with the management and the unilateral decisions being taken by one of the group with the result that two of the organisations are going it alone with a different broker for the coming year. Submissions, both written and verbal were made on the Water Framework Directive and the Nitrates Directive. Both these instruments will have a direct bearing on the quality of our waterways for the future and as a consequence our fish life so it will be important to be involved in the implementation process as it evolves. The meeting was told of the manner in which the sponsorship of the junior competitions was lost however hope was expressed that a new sponsor would be on board for the coming year. In conclusion he wished the incoming committee well. He said that he had held the position of secretary or PRO for the past ten years and he could not continue to give the same commitment as previous, consequently he would not be a candidate for the Secretary's job for the coming year.

SHANNON BOARD COARSE ANGLING PERMIT

The subject of the permit was discussed at length during the AGM. Since the introduction of the permit in 2003, the Federation has protested strongly and publicly to the board through a number of avenues regarding our fundamental objection of contributing to the new permit, while gillnetting continued on some of the same waters we were expected to pay to fish. Our stance during 2003 included a boycott of all the Shrfb managed waters. However, our position on the boycott was reviewed in light of written and verbal information we received from the Shrfb in the weeks prior to the AGM. In short, while the Shrfb indicate they will continue to carry out stock management, a review of their stock management programme on all concerned waters has resulted in a proposal that non-destructive methods (electrofishing) are used in 2004 and 2005 on a trial basis, with the return of all pike over 80cm ensured. However, while it has been stated that no gillnets will be used during this period except for scientific purposes, the Shrfb have also stated that they reserve the right to revert to the use of gillnets if the electrofishing is ineffective or the funds unavailable. While a note of scepticism was expressed regarding the proposed new programme, the democratic decision taken by the attending affiliated clubs was to end the boycott. This decision was taken on the basis of the correspondence received and to some extent in good faith, in the hope that this will lead to a complete cessation of the Shrfb's use of gillnets. However, a decision was also made at the AGM to undertake an intensive public campaign, if gillnets are used again.

The executive committee would like to thank the affiliated clubs for their support during the boycott throughout 2003.

As an aside it is worth mentioning that the decision to actually introduce a coarse angling permit has effectively ended Ireland's tourism promotion tool, whereby coarse angling has historically been provided free of charge. The Federation sympathises with tourism interests that have seen a significant decline in angling tourism over the years due to pollution, stock degradation and other issues. However, it must be noted that since the introduction of the permit there appears to have been very little by way of a concerted public campaign to reverse this decision from tourism and other angling interests. While the Shrfb have stated in the past that they do not foresee any major impact from the permit on angling tourism, it is difficult to assess exactly what the long-term implications of this permit will be.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The following persons were elected to the Executive Committee:
Chairman - John Chambers
Vice Chairman - Ray Bergin
Secretary - To be confirmed
Assistant Secretary - Paul Hamill
Treasurer - Terry Sheridan
Assistant Treasurer - John Boyle
Public Relations Officer - David Hamill
Competitions Officer - Pat Sheenan
Youth Officer - Finbar Meehan
Environment Officer - John Crudden
Committee Members - Ibar Condron, Paul Martin, Ciaran Byrne, Pat Mc Mahon.

MOTIONS TO AGM

1. Stewards at Federation competitions who are members of more than one affiliated club must state that at the check-in prior to the competition. Newbridge & District Angling Club. This motion was passed.
2. That a prize fund not exceeding 2000 Euro be introduced for the final of the Kingspan National Pike Championship 2005/06. IFPAC Executive Committee. This motion was defeated.
3. That the Federation organise and run an annual boat fishing competition. IFPAC Executive Committee. This motion was passed.
4. That some form of realistic remuneration is paid to the Secretary of the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs in order to carry out the duties of his office on behalf of the members. IFPAC Executive Committee. This motion was passed with the remuneration set at €1000.

AFFILIATION FEE

The affiliation fee, which is now due to the Federation, was set at 75 Euro Per club, payable to the Federation Treasurer Terry Sheridan.

FEDERATION INSURANCE

The Federation provides comprehensive insurance to it's affiliated clubs, the cost of which was outlined at the meeting and is as set out below:

Club insurance inclusive of Public Liability, Employers Liability and Boating Liability was set at €1.75 Per member (Negotiated reduction from €4 charged last year).
Personal Accident Insurance at €2 Per member consisting of the following benefits:
Death €35,000
Loss of two or more limbs or both eyes €35,000
Loss of one limb or one eye €35,000
Permanent Total Disablement €35,000
Temporary Total Disablement €150 (Payable per week for 104 weeks from 15th day of TTD)

Note: Cover notes in respect of the insurance policies will be available on receipt of the appropriate payment to the Federation Treasurer.

KINGSPAN NATIONAL PIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 2004-05

The heats of the Kingspan National Pike Championship have been selected for the coming season as follows.

25th April, River Barrow, Athy, Co. Kildare
9th May, Gulladoo Lake, Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim
30th May, Garty Lough, Arvagh, Co. Cavan
4th July, Lough Egish, Co Monaghan
8th August, Lough Urlaur, Kilkelly, Co. Mayo
5th September, Lough Avaghon, Co. Monaghan
10th October, River Shannon, Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly
7th November, Camlough, Co. Armagh
5th December, Grand Canal, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare
2nd January 05, Clae Lake, Keady, Co Armagh
6th February 05, Stewards Heat, venue to be decided

21st November 04, All-Ireland Inter-club competition, venue to be decided

NATIONAL JUNIOR PIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 2004

In line with the Federations commitment to the promotion and development of youth angling, the following dates and locations have been chosen for this year's junior championship. Please look for confirmation in the usual newspapers.

12th April, North Longford
18th April, Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo 23rd May, Tullamore, Co. Offaly
30th May, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan
11th July, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
25th July, Dun-na-ri, Kingscourt, Co. Cavan
1st August, Keady, Co. Armagh
22nd August, Rossmore, Co. Monaghan

19th September - Final - Venue to be announced

IMPORTANT: CLUB DETAILS REQUEST 2004

I have included a "club contact details" sheet with this newsletter. I would be grateful if your club could return it. It is important that we have up to date contact information to ensure any important information gets to you as soon as possible. On the sheet you will also find a space for a contact E-mail address. I would be grateful if you could supply me with this if you can get one, even a hotmail address, as it would speed up the process of getting the information out and also save money on postage, copying etc. and allow for more regular information transfer. Last year we didn't receive enough E-mail addresses to make the process viable, so please consider it this year.

Note: My own E-mail address is: davidhamill01@hotmail.com
The address of your website www.angling-in-ireland.com is: ifpac@hotmail.com
(I can be contacted at either E-mail addresses)


April 2004

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