Childers wants Irish Angling protected by reformed common fisheries policy

Posted by Bronwen Maher on March 02, 2010 at 02:54 PM

Recreational angling, an integral part of Ireland’s sporting life and a major tourism pull-factor should be protected in the new Common Fisheries Policy, Nessa Childers MEP told the European Parliament today.

She warned that attempts to impose controls on shore angling and to deduct these catches from the quotas of the commercial industry could have a serious affect on earnings in Ireland’s already troubled tourist industry.

Childers, a member of the European Parliament's Culture and Education Committee, argued that its low status compared to commercial fishing should not allow the importance of recreational angling to be ignored in the new Policy.

"While recreational angling constitutes just a small catch percentage of Europe's fishing industry, it is an integral economic and social element of many parts of the EU, particularly in Ireland.

"Angling has a long and important heritage in the east of Ireland, with scenes of anglers at rivers such as the Slaney or on the shores of the east coast a popular depiction of Irish culture. This reputation for angling also has a vital impact on tourism in many parts of Ireland, both from within Ireland and internationally, with Tiger Woods one famous regular patron of the Liffey in County Kildare.

Childers called on the reformed CFP to protect river angling and to ensure that catches from shore angling are not included in quotas dominated by commercial fishing.

"As a result of falling stocks of fish, there is a move to impose controls on shore angling and to deduct these catches from the quotas of the commercial fishing industry. These proposals could have a serious effect on tourist earnings from angling, and also have a negative cultural impact on many parts of Ireland."

Childers concluded her speech to the European Parliament by calling on her peers and colleagues in the European Commission to give special recognition to the financial and cultural importance of recreational angling in constituencies such as Ireland East.

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