€50,000 in funding awarded to angling clubs by Inland Fisheries Ireland.

Angling clubs and community development groups in the Midlands Fishery Group Permit Area will share funding of €50,000 this year to carry out sustainable fishery development projects.

The Midland Fisheries Fund (MFF) was created by Inland Fisheries Ireland from angler contributions set-a-side from the Permit Income received by IFI in the Midlands Fisheries Group permit area. This year, funding will be awarded to eight sustainable angling development projects ranging from the development of access for anglers with disabilities to river rehabilitation and provision of shallow water marker buoys.

Inland Fisheries Ireland was thrilled at the great response received to this, the pilot year of the MFF. A wide range of fishery projects were applied for and the top eight proposals will share the available funding of €50,000. Among the successful applicants were Lough Owel Trout Preservation Association, Kilconnell Community Development Association Ltd, Inny Anglers Development Association, Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association, Ballinlough and District Angling Club, Pallas Lake Fly Fishing Club and Lough Derravarragh Angling Association.

The MFF is exclusive to the Midland Fisheries Group area and is only open to clubs in that area. This scheme, which is similar in design to the Salmon Conservation Fund, will allow for habitat improvement but importantly also includes angling development projects. The successful applicants will be provided with technical assistance to help their projects become a reality.

‘This fund reaffirms IFI’s objective to facilitate stakeholders to undertake sustainable development works’ commented Fergus O’Dowd T.D. Minister of State with responsibility for Natural Resources. ‘These works will enhance and improve fisheries habitats and angling tourism potential and the contribution the inland fisheries resource makes to the economy. This scheme encapsulates the partnership approach between IFI and its stakeholders, ensuring projects are environmentally sustainable, undertaken with the appropriate permissions and guidance and developed by local angling clubs for the benefit of locals and tourists alike.’

‘It was clear from the large number of applications we received that anglers in the Midland Fisheries Permit Area are very keen to invest these funds, created from angler contributions, back into these fisheries’ commented Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland. 'I’m very happy with the wide range of successful projects this year and wish the clubs all the best with their development work.’

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