Sligo primary school lands top prize in IFI’s Something Fishy competition

A primary school in Sligo has reeled in the winning prize in Inland Fisheries Ireland’s 2023 ‘Something Fishy’ competition.

Something Fishy is an educational programme aimed at primary school pupils aged between 10-13 years old. It informs and educates students on fish, water, angling, and the Irish environment.

Sixth class learners in Scoil Mhuire agus Iosaf, Collooney, Co. Sligo created the winning project in this year’s competition, and received, a €500 prize voucher to be used for educational purposes at the school.

On completion of the programme, primary school students were challenged by IFI to create a project to demonstrate their learnings based on the theme of ‘life along the river’.

Something Fishy is organised by IFI, in conjunction with Blackrock Education Centre.

Announcing the winners, Suzanne Campion, Head of Finance and Corporate Services at IFI said: “This winning project showcased a great level of awareness from these young Sligo students of biodiversity, in, and around, our rivers. A big thanks to Sligo Education Centre for their assistance with schools in the Sligo area.

“It is reassuring to see the knowledge that these children have on issues around the conservation and protection of our fisheries resource. Such interest and engagement on the sustainability of our fish and habitats bodes well for future generations - who will, after all, be the custodians of our inland fisheries in the years to come.”

This year 45 schools participated in the Something Fishy www.somethingfishy.ie initiative nationwide.

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Photo caption: (L-R) Elisha Hickey (class teacher), Markus Müller (IFI), Emily Mannion (class representative), Paul Colreavy (principal).

For media queries contact: Sadhbh O’Neill, Communications Officer, Inland Fisheries Ireland  sadhbh.oneill@fisheriesireland.ie / 087 101 9998

Notes to the Editors

About Inland Fisheries Ireland

Inland Fisheries Ireland(IFI) is the State's environmental agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and managing Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling resources. IFI was established under Fisheries Act on 1st July 2010, and operates under the aegis of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. There are more than 300 people working at IFI in locations nationwide, and it manages a budget of approximately €31m annually. The agency has statutory responsibility for Ireland’s 74,000 km of rivers and streams, together with 128,000 lake hectares. It also has a coastline patrol jurisdiction of 12 nautical miles. fisheriesireland.ie