Guides Diary May

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Guide’s Diary

Blind Eye For Bass? Something is rotten in the state of Irish bass fishing. Jim Hendrick laments our inability to protect one of Ireland’s finest angling resources. A properly managed Irish bass fishery would be the envy of the world and could draw visiting anglers in their thousands.

84 Irish angler

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rom May 15th to June 15th it’s forbidden to fish for bass. Ireland is the only European country to manage bass as a recreational, rather than a commercial, species. This, of course, means that Ireland as a bass fishing destination proves very popular to visiting anglers, and, indeed, the existence of a managed recreational fishery (since 1990) provides employment in many sustainable, recreational, bass-angling-tourism projects in coastal communities all along our south and west coasts. The bass fishery is ideally located, providing access to large urban populations from within Ireland, the UK and Europe via Cork and Shannon airports. With the foresight of managing and developing the fishery on a recreational basis, Ireland now presents several quality fresh and saltwater sportfishing opportunities. This groundbreaking, and visionary, achievement was due largely to work done during the Smithwick Study, which proposed the ending of commercial exploitation of bass in Irish waters. The socio-economic benefits are briefly outlined below from work carried out during the 2005 season. From June to October 2005 just over 10,000 anglers made the trip to Ireland targeting bass on the south and western coasts. As well as European anglers, a further 2,000 anglers travelled from the USA in the striped bass/Irish bass exchange programme. These visitors account for 50 per cent of charter trips now booked on these coasts.

These boxes could contain illegally caught bass next. Government is paying no atte ntion to the protection legally protected fish stoc ks.

Illegal netting is still a big issue, but not one that is often talked about.

The gross input into local economies from this developing fishery is in excess of 18 million Euros. Further analysis is being carried out to determine the benefits of not harvesting the fish. In other words, the fishery has value even if it never landed fish, although anglers are allowed to keep two fish in any 24-hour period. Having designated bass as a recognised sportfish, Smithwick proposes that a further 15 angling tourism-based projects be created in the next five to eight years. This will bring the total estimated number of people directly or indirectly employed in the recreational bass fishing industry close to 380. It’s further proposed by Smithwick to extend the bass fishing close season to six weeks to further facilitate the continued conservation programme for the species. A resource centre will shortly be opened at St Helens in Co Wexford, as it has achieved European status for bass fishing excellence. Now for a reality check! The closest I’ve come to a Smithwick report was at a recent wedding, during which a friend kept me updated on an hourly basis on his ability to drink vast quantities of the stuff! In reality, the legislative protection, which was previously reviewed once every year, doesn’t in any way facilitate, assist or propose to develop the long-term sustainable recreational bass fishery. In fact, the legislation is particularly weak simply because resources are directed elsewhere or are simply not available. The Marine Institute has stated that an “illegal fishery for bass

still continues”. The extent of this fishery is impossible to gauge, but after 18 years of ‘protection’ the species abundance “remains depressed”, according to the Department of the Marine. So, as significant commercial, poaching and reckless recreational pressure increases and government agencies are often underresourced, what is to happen? I feel that as anglers we must begin to think of making a greater contribution to conservation and contribute to some management of the resources we have in any way possible and as best we can. Remember these are limited resources. Responsible anglers must respond with maturity to exploitation. Of course I hear many anglers dismiss the closed season with the usual comments like “Sure it’s only a few fish”, or “If we don’t catch them the trawlers will”, or – my favourite – “We’re fishing for sea trout”. Recently, at one of the Centres for Sea Angling Excellence, designated by Fáilte Ireland and the Central Fisheries Board, I witnessed, along with many other people including people engaged in the angling industry in the area and other anglers, a small boat unload a fish box of bass taken by rod and line. The boat was hitched to the trailer, the bass put in the jeep driven off. I asked what was going on, the reply was “Ahh sure, he’s at it all the time.” In other words, in an area that receives Government support, grants and angling development opportunities, the responsibility for managing legally protected fish is paid no

attention at all, even by people who avail of that Government support. Failing to recognise the potential of the species, the fishery and the lack of any cohesive voice that’s aimed at the protection and conservation for bass, only serves to further empower those responsible for the destruction of the fishery, and its continued failure to recover. There’s a further sinister side to this clandestine industry that impacts upon developing the fishery. Because illegal fishing operates below the radar, very little is ever made of it, coupled to the lack of a united voice or support group for bass, by sea anglers or any other body, the awareness (or lack of) and the extent of the continued exploitation doesn’t occupy much space in the public angling media domain. This ‘unawareness’ and lack of knowledge allied to what I can only call apathy then places any person trying to develop the fishery in a position where he can be accused of being exploitative or even reckless. Imagine that you were standing at the Ridge Pool in Ballina, watching some celebrity or other Spey cast into the river, while a small boat pulled onto the shore with 30 dead salmon in a box which were then loaded into the back of a jeep and driven off. Do you think that hotel owners, managers and staff, tackle retailers, fishing guides, pub owners, restaurant owners, local shopkeepers, taxi drivers, and most of all other anglers would stand idly by and say “Ahh, sure he’s at it all the time?” ■

Irish angler 85