Angling Notes: Inland Fisheries Ireland protection work contributes €836m annually to economy

Close to 200,000 hours and 31,180 patrols were carried out in 2016 to protect the fisheries resource, it was announced at the launch of the Inland Fisheries Ireland Protection Review in Buswells Hotel, Dublin, last Wednesday. The review highlights results of protection work which contributes €836 million to the Irish economy every year.

The efforts saw fisheries officers patrol 74,000km of rivers and streams, 128,000 hectares of lakes and 5,500km of coastline in their attempts to apprehend those responsible for illegal fishing and environmental offences.

Some key findings included 103 prosecutions for breaches of fisheries and environmental legislation; 1,487 items of illegal fishing equipment seized; 22,066 environmental inspections across a variety of sites and 36,979 inspections of recreational anglers to ensure compliance with fisheries acts.

Opening the Oireachtas Briefing Day, Minister Sean Kyne, said: "These challenges are being met by augmenting traditional patrol and protection methods with state-of-the-art surveillance technologies and new and innovative patrol methods in the ever changing environment in which services are delivered."

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Atlantic Salmon Trust auction

The Atlantic Salmon Trust (AST) 50th Anniversary Online Auction offers a chance to secure an extra special sporting trip for 2017 and help support the conservation work of the

AST

. With more than 160 lots, ranging from salmon fishing, wild trout, grayling and fishing equipment, this is probably the largest auction of its kind.

There is sport to suit every taste and pocket, with starting bids ranging from £20 to £2,400 (€24 to €2.8k). Superb salmon fishing lots include prime beats on Norwegian, UK and Irish fisheries.

For full details of lots on offer and instructions on how to register your bid, visit auction.atlanticsalmontrust.org. Bidding will close on February 14th.

Funds raised through the online auction go to support projects and research undertaken to protect and conserve wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout. To find out more, visit the ASTs new website: atlanticsalmontrust.org.

If you have registered to bid in our previous online auctions, you will be able to login using the same credentials this year.

Supporters who prefer not to use the internet can still take part. Please call us on 0131 221 6550 and we will post you a catalogue. You can then contact us with your bid(s) and we will do your bidding for you.

The Atlantic Salmon Trust, 11 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2AS. Tel: 0131 221 6550. Email: info@atlanticsalmontrust.org.

Brothers fined for illegal fishing

At a sitting of

Clonakilty District Court

earlier this month, Judge David Waters convicted two brothers of stroke-hauling a salmon in breach of Section 170 (1) of the 1959 Fisheries Act at Goose Pond on the Argideen River, Co Cork.

Judge Waters imposed fines of €750 on each of the defendants plus costs of €500 each. The charges had been vigorously contested by the brothers, however Judge Waters convicted the men and remarked upon the "unwarranted and unfounded allegations" made against the fisheries officers.

After hearing the evidence in regard to marks on the fish, Judge Waters was satisfied that the fish had, in fact, been stroke-hauled, a mechanism by which a weighted instrument or device is used to foul-hook the fish.

IFI's director, Sean Long, said: "This court case sends a clear message that illegal fishing activity will not be tolerated in Cork."

Salmon fishing in Lapland

Fancy a holiday of a lifetime in Swedish Lapland? WhereWiseMenFish is offering a salmon-fishing week from June 25th to July 2nd for £2,000 (€2,347) per angler. The large Baltic salmon that make their way up the Lainio river are every bit the match of their Atlantic counterparts. They average around 6.8kg and there is a real opportunity to come into contact with a 13.6kg+ monster.

Camp Onka has exclusive access to 7km of double bank fishing and this is one of the prime weeks in which to target these silver beauties.

The Camp Onka accommodation is now less camp-like with anglers staying at the nearby winter resort lodge now open for the summer fishing weeks ensuring comfortable beds, warm showers, good food and a place to relax after a day on the river.

For further details and bookings; call Justin Maxwell Stuart, +44 (0) 208 123 3516 (office) or +44 (0) 7711 519 857 (mobile).

angling@irishtimes.com