Anglers bring in more revenue in Ireland than golfers

Bold lettering on a quirky tee-shirt we saw a man wearing the other day declared that if you want to be happy for a day, get drunk, but if you want to be happy for life, take up fishing.

There was nothing about the ill-effects of a hangover — which would last for at least another day and a miserable one at that — but a recreational lifetime spent on a lake or a river doesn’t appear to have any downsides.

Born close to the Munster Blackwater, we can wistfully recall happy, youthful days on riverbanks and regret not having had the patience to persevere with rod and line. On occasion, however, it’s still a pleasure to head out.

It’s hard to credit there are hundreds of thousands of anglers in Ireland. You get the impression they’re generally quiet people (nearly always men) that you don’t hear much from — except, of course, for the tall tales in some angler’s rest, usually a pub, about the ones that got away.

Another point is anglers bring in more revenue than golfers. In 2012, we had 163,000 golfing tourists who spent €200m in the economy, according to Tourism Ireland.

A study by Tourism Development International (TDI) found angling tourism was worth €280m, in 2012, with 150,000 visiting anglers from Northern Ireland and overseas.

All of which brings us to Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) which has launched a public consultation in preparation for the development of a National Angling Development Plan.

The idea is to ensure the future of our rivers and lakes and to maximise the benefits to the country. Anglers, angling clubs and federations, fishery owners, community groups, angling service providers, state agencies and members of the public are being invited to make submissions.

It’s a wide agenda that might include suggestions for the development of angling, novice angler initiatives, thoughts on what makes a good fishery, and angling/fishery support service requirements.

Equally important is how a development plan can be implemented and how the support of fishery owners, anglers, state bodies and other stakeholders can be garnered.

The above-mentioned TDI study, commissioned by the IFI, has been described as the most complete ever on angling in Ireland. It found that 406,000 people were involved in recreational angling in Ireland during 2012.

Some 252,000 Irish adults held a fishing rod in 2012, with sea angling along with salmon and brown trout fishing the most popular categories with them.

The quality Irish angling, friendly people and the scenery were cited amongst the principal attractions of Ireland as an international angling destination.

Further information on the consultation is available at www.fisheriesireland.ie