IFI pushing through new 2014 state rod licence for RSA

[Al and Jordan]

just spent a while reading up on all the fears surrounding the IFI trying to push through a new rod licence for 2014 that will cover all aspects of angling from course, game and SEA ANGLING.
there is a facebook community page that has been set up in the backlash of the info getting out and it would appear that a lot of the offical fishing organizations are backing the IFI on this including the IFSA!!
i found this really odd as it's the first i have heard of it, and the same with a lot of our angling friends. i left a message on the IFI's facebook page to clarify some of this but as yet am still awaiting a response.
i'm not much of a whizz when it comes to posting links so if someone could be so kind as to do it for me the facebook page is called " No State Rod Licence In Ireland "

below is some of the info offered up on the matter that i have copied and pasted.
just seems really mad that this has somehow flown under the radar as so to speak


hi guys This is not just a stroke to fill the coffers, there is a lot more to this than meets the eye.I Attended an inland fisheries forum meeting last monday night and was given a presentation on it by IFI. This is an attempt to eradicate clubs and the rights they have enjoyed over the years.Just to let ye know the executive of Angling council of Ireland which is made up of SSTRAI, NCFFI, IFPAC and IFSA are supporting this licence to be imposed and enforced on anglers and have emailed TD,s in the last few days to say how great an idea it is. If any of your clubs are affiliated to any of the above bodies and you werent consulted you should let the federations you about your disapproval.I met with pike anglers from cork city thursday night who are totally opposed to this licence and are affiliated to one of the above bodies and guess what they knew nothing about it yet their federation are one of this licences proposers. Just to finish the Anglers in this country contribute to their sport day in day out in voluntary man hours with all the development , protection, enhancement, marketing, youth training etc we dont need to give a financial contribution we give more than enough already.

[cathald]

I've posted the question also Al on the ifsa page, If it is backed by the ifsa they will be shooting themselves in the foot as this will drop numbers in clubs who are already struggling to keep membership up

[joyster]

like the proposal to put a salmon farm in galway bay, this is just another tax collecting exercise, all the state bodies have to pay their way...enough said!!!

[JimC]

I think you'd have to see the heads of the new Fisheries Bill to see what is proposed. I haven't seen that appear yet....
Based on the consultation process, yes, many organisations are in favour of an "Angler Contribution". You'd get the impression that this would be an extension of the licence from Salmon to coarse etc. I have not seen anything like the support in terms of sea angling. I did not see an IFSA submission. They could have been late or did not submit. The whole thing is a bit confusing....how much does the Fisheries Bill impact sea angling?

[Martin Mc Gowan]

https://www.facebook.com/norodlicence

Here is the link Al.....

[JohnQ]

I think you'd have to see the heads of the new Fisheries Bill to see what is proposed. I haven't seen that appear yet....
Based on the consultation process, yes, many organisations are in favour of an "Angler Contribution". You'd get the impression that this would be an extension of the licence from Salmon to coarse etc. I have not seen anything like the support in terms of sea angling. I did not see an IFSA submission. They could have been late or did not submit. The whole thing is a bit confusing....how much does the Fisheries Bill impact sea angling?

Jim, you have highlighted the key point here, that is whether the IFI or the new fisheries bill can have any influence on sea fish management.
I too was at the IFI forum meeting in Athlone last week.(we badly need some more sea anglers there)
The main selling point of the "contribution" is that each angler would chose which sector his money would go to and that all the money would be ring-fenced for projects in that sector. Sounds fine apart from the fact that unlike the other sectors, the IFI have no say in how our sea fish are managed. So what could we get for our money? I put this point on record at the meeting. I'm not sure that this point had been considered.
The new Fisheries Bill is still a long way from completion. While the "contribution" is being seriously considered it will definitely not be coming in the new year. As for the IFSA supporting the "contribution", they only represent sea match anglers after all and not sea anglers. I also doubt very much if they balloted their members for their point of view.
Before making my mind up on this one I would like to find out what the IFI propose to give us for any money we might give them. A few angling only bays and estuary's around Ireland would be nice!

[beachbuddy]

This has to be a wind up,april 1st is still a few months away.After another annual bass netting debacle in eastcork last weekend hell will freeze over first before i'll sign up for a licence of any description I was in favour for years of licences for angling of all aspects but with so much illegal stuff going on and fish stocks in my eyes from my local beaches at a pathetic low level id rather pay the fee to an aquarium and gaze at the fish in tanks that were once available on the local foreshore before been decimated by people who just see the dollar sign

[Tanglerat]

It's an old topic that seems to rear its head up every few years.

http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... 12&t=40331

This latest hoo-ha seems to be an evolution of that.

I'm still (kinda) standing by my prediction:

http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... =12&t=9361

might be a year, two at most, out on that one.

[Al and Jordan]

cheers for the replies lads and getting that link up martin.
well as it stands the IFI have just ignored my question. i left a message on their fb page and they have posted up some silly fishing quotes and scenic photos of rivers and bridges since then, but point blankly ignored my question.
a few well known anglers have commented on their page too about avoiding the question and still the silence from them is worrying to say the least.

[Tanglerat]

Interesting discussion about this going on here amongst some pike fishers.

[jgraham768]

An outrage! This will absolutely destroy the small community of hobby anglers around these parts if it goes through.

[jkchambers]

Interesting discussion about this going on here amongst some pike fishers.

Many posting on that pike facebook are not pike anglers.
I posted this thread hear at the beginning of the year alerting anglers of what process was about to start.
http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... 12&t=42948
Very few anglers and almost no sea anglers bothered to turn up at these consultation meetings.
Whether sea anglers will be included or not is still up in the air. Most freshwater federations support the idea of a compulsory angler charge on the strict condition that funds raised are 100% ringfenced, will be spent on development, protection, youth angling promotion/development etc. There will be separate funds to cover pike, trout. coarse etc and anglers will be on the management committees overseeing the spending of the funds. The current salmon licence and the Midland permit to fish Inny catchment, Suck, Brosna etc will both be scrapped. It is thought the angler contribution would be set at around €40 with lower rate for juniors etc. I understand that heads of bill will go before the Government on Monday. The Minister will be meeting federations again in January to go through things in more detail. The Minister has said that he will then go around the country holding more consultation meetings.

[Eoghan]

If they use the money correctly I would have no problem with it. We need more FO's about the place. In all my time fishing I have run into 2 of them and im fishing a good 27 years.

[salar]

"The Minister going around the country holding consultation meetings..." is politician's speak for finding out what way the wind is blowing.
Politicians are not overly fond of having issues of huge controversy and agro - without any quantifiable gain - attached to their career cv. An angling licence - where none existed for generations - is a case in point (remember the proposed trout licence debacle of 30 years ago?).

On the face of it a licence fee - much of which is used to maintain the fishery - seems a reasonable enough proposition. Unfortunately its acceptance hinges on the idea that Irish anglers are uniquely different from much of the rest of population in that they actually believe what government tells them.

Since the early 1950's - I have always found that you will never receive sudden shocks to the system or pleasant surprises if you allow all statements from the Government (particularly with anything regarding fisheries - commercial or sport) to go in one ear and promptly out the other.

[jkchambers]

When we see the Bill we will know exactly what is proposed. If it is as he said it will be then it certainly could not be called a licence. It would be anglers contributing to a fund where fellow anglers grant aid clubs etc for development, protection etc. I may have updates next Tuesday.

[salar]

As I recall - the phrase 'contributing to restocking' was bandied around a lot during the trout licence fiasco. However anglers, particularly west of the Shannon, didn't buy it and it rumbled on for years with boycotts and massive losses to tourism eventually culminating in the unprecedented scrapping of the Act.

The phrase "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" springs to mind.

[Al and Jordan]

if i honestly thought that sea angling would benefit from it i would have no problem paying for a licence, contribution, permit or whatever it is they are finally going to sugar coat it as.
but i doubt we would ever see anything out of it if i'm honest.
just look around at whats going on along our coast on a daily baisis in open view with diddly squat being done to stop it.
even when lads have reported things such as illegal nets, they have just been left to fish on as no one in an official capacity wanted anything to do with it

[salar]

In the unlikely event that I suddenly believed what was being proposed by the Government, why would I suddenly think that contributing some kind of fee would enable it to manage any better on our behalf its sea fishing resources given that by and large that the overseeing of Irelands sea fisheries by the state has been a history of spectacular incompetence.

[JimC]

We'll wait and see..... but if it looks like a licence, walks like a licence, hurts like a licence but called a "contribution"...Its still a licence.

Most freshwater federations support the idea of a compulsory angler charge on the strict condition that funds raised are 100% ringfenced, will be spent on development, protection, youth angling promotion/development etc.

Based upon what I am reading elsewhere I wouldn't be sure this is true...more a hope than a fact methinks

[jkchambers]

We'll wait and see..... but if it looks like a licence, walks like a licence, hurts like a licence but called a "contribution"...Its still a licence.

Most freshwater federations support the idea of a compulsory angler charge on the strict condition that funds raised are 100% ringfenced, will be spent on development, protection, youth angling promotion/development etc.

Based upon what I am reading elsewhere I wouldn't be sure this is true...more a hope than a fact methinks

In freshwater angling there are basically 2 coarse feds, 1 pike fed, 2 trout and 2 salmon/sea trout. From what they have said and looking at the submissions they have made to the Dept 5 of the 7 broadly support the idea of a compulsory angler contribution if its 100% ringfenced and some other conditions. Inland Fisheries Ireland has requested all feds (incl sea) to a meeting on Tuesday to update and consult with them.