Ms Suzanne Campion:

Inland Fisheries Ireland is the body charged with the conservation, protection, development, management and promotion of the inland fisheries resource and sea angling. As such, we do a great deal of work to promote all angling activities in Ireland, including the sea angling product. Shore angling is perhaps the most popular form of sea angling in Ireland and attracts many participants who fish estuaries and from piers, rocks and beaches all around the coast. Shore angling can take place during 12 months of the year. Small boat angling is carried out by anglers from locally owned small boats at small ports nationally. Small boats go out about 5 km and the activity is weather dependent.

For the most part, small boat angling takes place from spring to autumn. There are approximately 80 chartered skippers nationally who run small businesses based in local communities. Up to 12 people can go out on a boat hired from a chartered skipper for the day. They go up to 30 km out to sea. The species targeted by anglers include bass, shark, ling, cod, pollock and, the one everyone thinks of, mackerel. There are 33 species which are regularly the subject of a normal small boats competition in the south east or south west.

Sea angling is an important part of the overall Irish angling product. The latest comprehensive study which is about to be finalised indicates that angling is worth more than €500 million to the economy and is estimated to support 10,000 jobs in rural and peripheral communities. I cannot stress enough that recent studies from NUIG demonstrate that all of the income generated by small, community-based, marine businesses stays in the local area. It has been estimated that there is a multiplier effect of 0.48 with such income. If €1 million is spent, there is €1.5 million worth of an economic impact in local and peripheral communities. The statistics which our survey is generating show that there are 250,000 Irish anglers who are currently active. Approximately 250,000 further anglers have fished in the past and would like to go fishing again. We have identified 40,600 anglers coming from Northern Ireland while the latest figures from Tourism Ireland show that in 2011, 113,000 came from European and other destinations. Participants in sea angling number 97,000. While that suggests that 25% of all anglers are sea anglers, it is a complex area. Most anglers target a number of species. One could have a salmon angler who is also a bass angler and a trout angler or a sea angler who also fishes for pike or other coarse species.

Our study comprised a household survey carried out in two tranches at two different times of the year, a survey of recreational anglers carried out at 50 locations nationally and a survey of stakeholders including trade and industry interests. Sea anglers take 773,500 trips per year and 72% of them are under 55 years of age. Almost 25% of anglers are in the 18 to 34 years age bracket, which is a slightly different profile to the perception of anglers which exists. Anglers are generally seen as grey-haired men older than 55 years. We have a young cohort who are eager to develop. Sea anglers are estimated to spend €1,300 annually on their sport while bass anglers in particular spend approximately €2,600 each annually. It is impressive that people are willing to spend these sums on their pastime.

When IFI goes to markets abroad, we generally accompany Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, though sometimes we go on our own. We market Ireland as Angling in Ireland, Angel en Irlandor Peche en Irlande. People abroad would not understand a reference to Killybegs or Ballycotton but they will understand Ireland and the Irish product. The product is sold as an experience of good fishing, good craic, beautiful scenery and an unspoilt environment. That combination is what tourists tell us they want. Promotional activities include shows, brochures, articles, filming and information on specimen fish and predator hunting. The expertise within IFI means we can carry out these activities ourselves except any printing required. We have expertise that can provide information on angling, produce brochures and accompany journalists on visits. It is fundamental to anglers that they benefit from expert marketing. It is not enough for an ordinary Joe Soap to tell them about angling as they will be caught out.

We provide information on the angling product daily through social media, websites and blogs and by way of weekly e-zines. Information is going out all year. We gather information all the time through our marine tagging programme, which is voluntary, and our chartered skippers' voluntary logbook programme. We are currently facilitating the Donegal angling pilot programme which involves chartered skippers and game anglers coming together to market an overall product. Most of our angling stakeholders are very innovative and see that one cannot send anglers to the pub for the day. They are examining alternatives. If an angler cannot go sea fishing one day, he or she can go game or coarse angling. The Cork sea angling hub is another great example of the work being done by agencies and stakeholders. There are approximately nine chartered skippers between Ballycotton and Kinsale and accommodation, restaurants and boat hire are all tied up together in a hub to offer a complete package to anglers. Competitions are run which attract many international visitors. When anglers come they stay longer than typical travellers and spend all their time on the west, south-west and north-west coasts and in the Shannon region. They only spend 7% of their time in Dublin. They are travelling to the peripheral and isolated communities where the money is kept by small and local businesses.

Bass fishing is most interesting in terms of developing trends. It is the only fishery that is managed as a recreational marine species. The proliferation of bass angling guides, accommodation providers and the comments of anglers lead us to believe there is a developing business in this area. Figures in our study will show that. Kayak angling is a niche angling activity which attracts younger people. It is not too popular in Ireland yet, but it is somewhere between small boats and shore angling. It provides anglers with a bit more mobility and excitement and represents the type of adventure-style holiday that people are seeking now. Light rock fishing is something we see on the horizon. It is a change of use of tackle and involves going to heavier tackle rather than lines to lighter tackle which can target more species. This is the up and coming thing in the tackle industry which we can see developing throughout the world. It will come to Ireland.

There are many perceptions and concerns which we came across in the study. Illegal fishing and netting continue to be a concern of stakeholders. Fewer anglers, depleted fish stocks, regulations which are not obeyed and policed and higher fuel costs for small boat owners and chartered skippers are also concerns. Last year was a concern for most people as fewer anglers came due to the bad weather. While we saw fewer anglers, it was because weather conditions did not suit them. We are happy to discuss the concerns set out in more detail if members wish.

The study is comprehensive and will be published shortly. This is a huge sector with very significant potential. It brings €500 million into the economy and supports 10,000 jobs. There is potential to grow the number of anglers domestically and internationally. Given that 250,000 people want to go angling but have not done so in the last year and the market abroad is huge, there is massive potential. We need a cohesive approach by all stakeholders which ensures the sustainability of the resource and increases the return to Ireland.