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Esri Ireland calls on 250,000 anglers to help with conservation

Angling Notes: IFI using new digital mapping system in safeguarding fish populations

Angler Brian Cooke with William Roche, senior research officer at Inland Fisheries Ireland, and Schalk Van Lill, customer success manager at Esri Ireland
Angler Brian Cooke with William Roche, senior research officer at Inland Fisheries Ireland, and Schalk Van Lill, customer success manager at Esri Ireland
Derek Evans
Mon Sept 12 2022 - 05:00

Esri Ireland, the market leader in geographic information systems (GIS), and Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) are calling on the 250,000 recreational sea anglers in Ireland to play an active role in helping to conserve marine fish stocks.

The company recently announced that its digital mapping system is being used by IFI to help safeguard fish populations and protect marine ecosystems. Esri Ireland’s ArcGIS system supports the Irish Marine Recreational Angling Survey (IMREC) which aims to estimate sea anglers’ catches along the 3,000km of Irish coastline.

Whether they are shore, small boat or charter boat anglers, each member can sign up to access the ArcGIS Survey123 web-based app, where they can record their catches using a personalised dashboard.

Turning anglers into citizen scientists, the easy-to-use app enables anglers around Ireland to gather and upload real-time information from any device about the fish they catch and release.

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This anonymised information is then automatically transferred to a shared repository, where it can be easily viewed by anglers and monitored by IFI to identify patterns in the species distribution, volumes and weight of fish, and estimated catch rates.

In turn, IFI has greater control over the accuracy and consistency of data collected. The EU is particularly interested in data on cod, pollock, sharks, rays, sea bass and migratory species such as tuna, but the solution can also be configured to capture data on other species.

Sea anglers of all experience levels can sign up via the IFI website, and will find a quick and easy video guide on how to use the app.

September is one of the busiest periods for sea angling around the Irish coast, so it’s a great time to start recording your catch.

Dr William Roche, senior research officer at IFI, said: “With more anglers collecting data, we will be able to build up a better picture of the state of fish stocks off Ireland’s coast. The personalised dashboards will help to make recording of data a habitual activity for anglers.

Schalk Van Lill, customer success manager with Esri Ireland, added: “The solution can be easily scaled up to accept data uploads from more and more participants, allowing IFI to expand the scheme over time.”

Coarse angling fests on Inniscarra

Inniscarra Lake in Co Cork continues to display its world-class status for coarse angling. The late summer series of three-day back-to-back festivals were very productive, with exceptional daily match weights of 14kg.

With a move to all three sections on the Coachford Greenway, the venue developed for the world feeder championships of 2014, and latterly the world youth championships, increased weights to 16kg over the three days of the Lennox Cup.

Browning UK’s Mick Fordham took the cup with 72kg 710g. Notable weights on his first day were 30kg 510g on the long straight, followed by Kees Westdorp with 32kg 520g and John Fletcher with 29kg 070g at the Turtle Bay section.

The Coachford Greenway is a fine facility shared by anglers, cyclists and walkers, with the reservoir also headquarters for Rowing Ireland.

One for the diary: Inniscarra Lake Tourism Development Ltd will host Ireland’s largest feeder fishing festival from October 17-21.

Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer in Gone Fishing
Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer in Gone Fishing

Fishermen friends

The first in a new series of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, returned to BBC2 last Friday evening and will continue weekly. The show stars comedians and lifelong friends Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, who share a passion for angling. The fifth and final programme of the series is based around Burke’s of Clonbur, Co Galway — well worth a watch.

Reeling on Lough Sheelin

The McDonald Cup will be held on Lough Sheelin from Kilnahard Pier on Saturday, September 18th. Fishing is from 11am to 6pm and entry fee is €25. The competition is open to non-members.

If you have an angling story to share, please send to me at angling@irishtimes.com

* This article was amended on Monday, September 12th

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