The Government has been warned of a "new rod licence war" if changes to existing inland fisheries legislation are agreed by the Oireachtas before Christmas. The Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 1999, is due to receive its second reading today.
Mr Michael Finucane, the Fine Gael spokesman for the marine, said yesterday that an eruption of yet another divisive rod licence debacle was unavoidable if the proposals were railroaded through the Oireachtas.
Members of the Trout Anglers' Federation of Ireland also voiced their criticisms at a meeting in Dublin yesterday with the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods.
The amended legislation seeks to revise the structures and appointment procedures for central and regional fisheries boards. However, the federation is critical of the new representation procedures and has claimed that it will be disenfranchised, said its spokesman, Mr Martin McEnroe.
Mr Finucane urged the Minister to rethink his plan to "rush" the Bill through before Christmas. "The whole angling community is up in arms over the proposals, and feels that its interests and opinions have been completely ignored," he said.
"While Dr Woods is claiming to seek a more appropriate balance of fisheries and other relevant competencies on the boards, the truth is that he intends to give the balance of power to ministerial appointees instead of ensuring that the voice and vital input of the angling community are properly represented," he said.
Publishing the Bill earlier this month, Dr Woods described it as a new blueprint for inland fisheries, and said that it devolved greater responsibility to local regions to manage and control their affairs through the seven regional fisheries boards.
The Bill establishes a National Salmon Commission and introduces a salmon tagging regime as a conservation and management measure.
"The new framework provided by the Bill for the boards and the trout and coarse fisheries co-ops, combined with the establishment of the new National Salmon Commission, represents the most significant initiative for the sector in 20 years," Dr Woods said.
The Southern Trout and Coarse Fisheries Development Society said yesterday that it was "surprised" by the proposals.
