Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

While I obviously do not agree with overfishing, could more research be carried out to ascertain the best thing is being done?

On a different point in respect of angling, I was contacted by a person from Wexford, Mr. Ashley Hayden, who maintained that the angling industry in Ireland is worth approximately €100 million. He reckons south-east Ireland potentially has a world-class angling product but that it is poorly developed and marketed, with the result that only 5% of Irish tourist anglers stop in the south east and generally only do so for a single bed night. Mr. Hayden personally visited a major angling association in south Wales with a membership of 3,000 and over the past six months, has managed to get 300 people from this association to come to the south-east region of Ireland for a week. As they spent an average of €1,000 per head, he reckons doing this has brought approximately €300,000 into the local economy. He thinks a professional should be appointed in the south-east region to promote angling and to further develop what he did himself.

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