The central and regional fisheries boards are to embark on a new education programme consisting of a series of presentations and field trips to more than 20 schools nationwide.
The existing Something Fishy project, produced in conjunction with Blackrock Education Centre in 2004, has received glowing reports from primary school teachers and students.
However, to create further awareness of the resource, a national programme and competition element has been agreed with 12 education centres in each region to educate primary school children on the importance of their local environment, fishery habitat and fish species.
The pack comprises nine double-sided activity cards that explore different aspects of fish life and includes relevant background information and guidelines for teachers. Also included is a quality poster, created by Liam O'Broin, an experienced teacher, angler and artist, to aid the learning process.
Each school will be asked to complete a class project based on one of four themes contained within the pack, ie art, literacy, IT and practical conservation. The top two schools in each region will go forward to a national final and the winning class and teacher will receive individual and school certificates, and an array of prizes including microscopes and digital cameras.
Centres taking part in the programme are: Blackrock, Dublin West, Kildare, Wexford, Monaghan, Donegal, Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Athlone, Cork and Kilkenny. The pack is available in Irish and English and supported with a website that contains interactive games, quizzes and activities (www.somethingfishy.ie).
Minister of State for the Marine, John Browne, said: "Young people's interest and imagination can be captured when they become aware of these habitats, the fish species in their local waterways and what they can do to help in that effort." Contact Mark Corps at 01-884 2672.
An interesting quote by Shaun Morey from his book, Fishing Stories, printed on Merlin Unwins 2007 calendar, states: "Include kids in your next fishing trip . . . without a new generation of fishermen, our sport is doomed."
The Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF), a US-based organisation dedicated to conservation and education through fly fishing, is sending some of its leading programme examiners to Ireland in early April to assist in the certification of top level Irish fly fishers as casting instructors.
Over the past few years, master fly-casting instructor and FFF board governor John Breslin has provided testing to Irish fly-casters in America, and has always been satisfied with their skill and dedication to the sport. Ireland has five FFF master casting instructors: Liam Duffy (Cavan), Robert Gillespie (Mayo), Patrick Trotter (Fermanagh), Peter O'Reilly (Meath) and Andrew Ryan (Waterford).
With the dedication of Ireland's FFF instructors and support from John Breslin, two members of the FFF International Casting Instructor Certification Programme will be in Navan, Co Meath, to provide testing and workshops in instruction techniques for certified casting instructor, two-handed casting instructor, and certified master casting instructor levels.
The workshops are to teach skills for single and two-handed rods and are open to experienced fly fishers. Dan McCrimmon, FFF International committee chairman, said: "Irish instructors are on par or may even surpass other instructors internationally, and are welcome anywhere in the world."
Contact danmcc@uniserve. com or Peter O'Reilly, 046-902 8210.
The recent Ballynahinch Newsletter makes for interesting reading. On the salmon drift net ban, it notes: "The high profile campaign and resulting ban on drift netting would not have come about without the intense lobbying and masterful campaign led by Niall Greene since July 2004. Stop Now was set up with a single aim, to stop drift netting around the Irish Coast.
"In that time, Stop Now met more than 75 per cent of Government TDs, held numerous meetings in Brussels, amassed 2,500 people to march at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis in Killarney and, for the first time, created a unified voice for the Irish angling community.
On the Drowes River, three spring salmon were caught and released last week in the vicinity of Lennox Bridge. Boat anglers on Lough Melvin are still chasing that elusive first springer.