Hook, line and sinker: poster competition reels in young artists  

Entrants to focus on the 'Catch Photo Release' approach to fishing, which supports our fish population and biodiversity

Bass player: a teen fisherman holding a Largemouth bass.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is enlisting the creative efforts of the country’s primary school students to get across a key conservation message.

Fifth and sixth class pupils are asked to create a poster that promotes awareness of the ‘catch, photo and release’ (CPR) method of angling in Ireland. The CPR approach means a fish caught with a rod by an angler is quickly photographed and then returned safely back into the same water to swim away. This ensures greater numbers of fish can be conserved in rivers, lakes and around coastlines, putting less pressure on fish populations and boosting biodiversity.

To enter, primary school students are invited to create a poster with the ‘catch, photo and release’ message, take a photo of it and then submit it by email before April 15. 

Winning students in fifth and sixth class categories will receive a tablet valued at €500 and will have their work featured in an awareness campaign. The national poster competition, organised by IFI in conjunction with Blackrock Education Centre, is part of the Something Fishy educational programme. This educates students on the importance of biodiversity and of having sustainable habitats, fish and angling.

Suzanne Campion, IFI head of business development, says CPR is just one conservation measure but a very important one, given that angling is increasingly popular in Ireland with more than 320,000 people enjoying it as a hobby/sport. “Every generation has a vital role to play in taking care of our native fish and that includes protecting and conserving them,” she said.

An IFI 2019 survey found 62% of anglers reporting they started fishing between age five and 11 – and 86% said they’d been introduced to fishing by a family member. Lorraine O’Donnell, IFI education and outreach officer, says IFI encourages young people to get involved in angling and to use CPR from when they start.

Aside from bringing children out into nature, O’Donnell says children can play an active part in conservation, looking after a local area well known to them. “They can be the eyes and ears of the river. They might see pollution – a pipe discharging waste – or a blockage in the river, where a tree has come down on a fish path. They’ll get to know what fish are in the rivers and lakes near them, which will mean they’ll be more careful as they grow up.”

• To enter the competition, parents/guardians/teachers are asked to email original entries to [e-mail] before Friday, April 15. Only one entry per student; winners announced in June. Free resources/further details at www.somethingfishy.ie

Fishy factfile:

• About 100 schools take part annually, involving 2,600 students.
• Children learn about the salmon life cycle; a local fishery officer brings them on a field trip to a nearby river where they’re shown the fish, insects and activity in the river.
• One of our native fish, the salmon has been around since the Ice Age. “With climate change and rising temperatures, these cold-water fish are suffering,” says Lorraine O’Donnell of IFI.
• Getting the CPR message out will benefit salmon, brown trout, sea trout and common Irish fish species.