Ulster Angling Federations plans for the Erne, Worrying times ahead! Vlog No 95

So I gave up my Saturday to go to the Ulster Angling Federations conference on the future of Lough Erne.

For absolute clarity my view on the UAF is that it is a Game angling organisation, who at best views Coarse Fish & the anglers who fish for them as a nuisance at worst pushes mistruths falsehoods and downright lies!

It is not to be trusted with the future of angling as a sport on the Erne system because of its game angling only focus.

During the conference when the first speaker was rebutted for telling lies and pushing disinformation off as fact a UAF host of the conference shouted “shut your mouth” at the person who raised the points. Deeply unprofessional and downright hostile towards Pike angler who raised the question.

The first speaker started off well enough I suppose pointing out the continued damage to the Erne the 2 damns on the Erne do they basically stopped all migratory fish going to and returning from the sea from the 1970s onwards, he mentioned pollution levels and how raw sewage is pumped into the Erne by NI Water, now at that point there isn’t one person in the room from Match angler to Trout angler who was anything less than horrified by this part of the briefing.

This is where it takes a turn to the downright bizzarre the speaker quoted how Pike were an invasive species to Ireland (downright nonsense) and that Perch were now a problem on the Erne so he was pushing for a commercial Perch Fishing quota on the Erne system, the same speaker allegedly is a member of the committee who sits on the Commercial netting board for the Erne system (the push for culls of Pike and Perch suddenly became clear). The speakers facts and evidence were rebutted little did the UAF or the speaker know that the Pike anglers had smuggled in a ringer we had a member of the legal team that successfully defeated militant game anglers efforts to cull pike on the great western loughs of Corrib and Mask who was only too happy to quote legal fact and law highlighting that the speaker was at best misinformed at worst deliberately telling lies.

Its at this point the attitude in the room changed, I got the feeling the UAF wernt expecting Pike men armed with fact and scientific evidence to be in the crowd nor were they expecting Coarse/match men who were equally well armed with facts to be in the crowd.

There were talks from scientists who have studied the Erne for 30 years and these were interesting to listen too even if the power point show was near impossible to read there was heads of government departments for Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs DEARA and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency NIEA and this too was interesting to listen too. The NIEA caught a lot of flack for their failures regarding a recent fish kill on the river Kesh. Edwin Poots the minister in charge of DEARA was meant to make an appearance however he ducked it and didn’t show up.

Other no shows were the Electricity Supply Board for the Republic of Ireland ESB I suspect they wernt about to give up a Saturday to listen to a bunch of angry fishermen wanting answers over the continued failure to allow migratory fish into or out of the Erne system

At this point I have to state I am unaware of any Pike fishing club or society or group who were asked to come along and air their views on the future of the Erne system. Good point that the Irish Pike Society IPS, Northern Ireland Pike Society NIPS and the Pike Angling Club of Great Britain and Northern Ireland PACGB were in attendance, I was there purely as David Scobie the guy who fishes for everything I was not there to represent any club or society.

I have been told by the UAF that a member from the Erne Anglers match fishing club was invited but at the point of posting this video I've not been able to confirm that.

It is my view that coarse anglers simply cannot be sat in the shadows here, not with the dangerous voices whod seek to destroy Pike and Coarse angling on the Erne to magically bolster Trout stocks. We cannot sit back and let these sorts of people influence policy regarding our sport. I honestly would urge all anglers who fish the Erne to be prepared to speak out because as the song goes there may be trouble ahead!

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Видео Ulster Angling Federations plans for the Erne, Worrying times ahead! Vlog No 95 канала David Scobie Angling Adventures