Press Release 23rd June 2009
MINISTER OF STATE LAUNCHES NEW SEA ANGLING GUIDE
Sea Angling Guide
Minister of State at Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Conor Lenihan, T.D., today launched a new sea angling guide at Buswell’s Hotel in Dublin.
This publication is entitled ‘A guide to sea angling in the Eastern Region’ and is written by Norman Dunlop, one of the foremost experts on sea angling in Ireland and published by the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board. It covers sea angling from Dundalk to Wexford and contains detailed information on angling venues, methods, seasons for various fish species and bait availability. There is also essential contact information on chartered boat skippers, fish species and on safety regulations.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister complemented the author Norman Dunlop and the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board on the publication. ‘I wish to congratulate Norman on the work which he has put in to developing this comprehensive guide and to the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board who produced the design and layout of the guide and also arranged for its publication. The Guide presents the sea angler with an enviable choice of sea angling locations along the eastern fisheries region coastline from Dundalk Bay in the north to Ballyteigue Bay on the south Wexford coast. It provides information on the huge variety of fish species which can be caught including bass, cod, mackerel, mullet, flounder, pollack and ling’.
This guide is an invaluable reference book for those new to the sport and also to tourists who can plan their visit to any one of the numerous sea angling locations featured in the guide and make informed choices relating to the type of fishing which they wish to pursue. Sea angling alone generates significant economic benefits for the eastern seaboard. In 2007, there were 230,000 overseas visitors to Ireland who participated in angling and the overall spend on angling tourism for the year was €87.4m. Of this 128,000 came to Ireland specifically for fishing and the remainder did a little fishing while on holiday in Ireland. Of the total specialists (128,000) one quarter went sea angling (31,000). (Source: Failte Ireland statistics 2008).
The guide contains a number of coastline maps for the area which identify shore, rock and small boat angling marks along the coastline. It complements the existing angling guides which the Board has produced to date on coarse and game angling. It is free and is available through regional and local tourism offices, tackle distributors, accommodation providers and from the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, Tel: 01 278 7022, email: www.info@erfb.ie
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Media enquiries
Josie Mahon, Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, 15A Main Street, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Tel: 01 278 7022 / 087 6538202, email: josie.mahon@erfb.ie
Website: www.fishingireland.net Email:info@erfb.ie
The Eastern Regional Fisheries Board is a statutory authority whose function is to conserve, develop, protect, manage and promote the inland fisheries and sea angling resources within its jurisdiction. The Region extends from the border in Northern Ireland to South of the Wexford coast and includes all catchments which enter the sea between these boundaries. For further information, please visit www.fishingireland.net
The author Norman Dunlop is undoubtedly one of the best known and respected names in the world of sea angling. For the last four decades, his name has been synonymous with Irish sea angling at home and abroad. Norman has been responsible for the publication of many angling guides and angling magazine articles during his long career. His love of sea angling and infectious enthusiasm have been responsible for introducing anglers both at home and abroad to many different hotspots previously only known to himself. In this book he generously shares with us his unrivalled knowledge on fishing marks, fishing methods and bait collection locations in this Region. This information was painstakingly gained through his personal angling pursuits and a career spanning thirty one years with the Inland Fisheries Trust and the Central Fisheries Board.