As the salmon anglers protest campaign gets into full swing FISSTA has welcomed the widespread support and good wishes from fellow sports people in other national bodies who are dumbfounded by the actions of Duchas, Dept of Marine and the Regional Fishery Boards to evict FISSTA affiliated angling clubs off their fisheries by not renewing leases. The National Association of Regional Game Councils have agreed to join forces to support FISSTA and angling clubs in their series of planned public meetings to be held in Kerry, Galway and Donegal in the coming months. The first of these meetings to be held in Killarney has been rescheduled to later in February to allow Minister Fahey to meet a FISSTA delegation at his earliest convenience.
In Donegal, the Manager of the Northern Fishery Board thankfully took some of our appeal seriously last week and did a half U turn by restoring the permits, thus protecting the salmon. Sadly, the anglers are still in danger as he did not go the full distance and grant secure tenure to the Creslough Anglers. It was agreed at a recent meeting of the Donegal Game Anglers Federation to endorse their full support to FISSTA to pursue the Lackagh case along with the evictions in Kerry under the national issue of security of tenure.
Following a meeting in Dublin on 24th January 2002 with the Central Fisheries Board in which both Kerry and Donegal delegates voiced their concerns a number of decisions were agreed which FISSTA hope will prove productive in the long-term.

1. FISSTA stated that Catchment Management, under the new coordinator should not continue to be used to acquire FISSTA waters by the Northern and SWRFB Managers.

The CFB handed us a reply to our policy document and it was decided to use this as a basis to seek the immediate revocation of CM - Kerry & Donegal Style.

2. On the Future Management of Fisheries, FISSTA agreed to resubmit their plan that gives secure tenure to all affiliates for minimum five to ten years to develop the FISSTA model under best practise principles.

3. Salmon Mgt. - We flagged our concern for the Laune CM deal as FISSTA suspect this agreement will be used to delay the restoration of our salmonid stocks.

Sadly, no immediate progress was forthcoming from this meeting and to date the following issues remain on the FISSTA agenda:
(a) The withdrawal of the dreaded Eviction Notices imposed by the state and security of tenure to be returned to the Laune, Flesk, Donegal and Mayo Anglers immediately.
(b) A public enquiry into the working of this particular CM group in the management of the South Western Board & Northern Regional Fisheries Boards and Duchas.
(c) The provision of a statutory scheme dedicated to conservation, research and education, for salmon and seatrout or other game, fauna, as outlined in our Salmonid Sanctuary Programme under the administration of FISSTA & NARGC.

Until the above is granted FISSTA will continue the following three actions as decided at our Executive meeting on Jan 12th 2002:
(i) All cooperation with Salmon Conservation measures as applied by Anglers during 2001 season, are withdrawn. (This includes the filling of license books, etc) FISSTA do not advocate the breaking of the law, and ask that they practise conservation methods of returning all fish caught until our issues are resolved.

(ii) As the state has not renewed our leases to some clubs we are no longer in a position to give our traditional hearty welcome to Tourist Anglers on any FISSTA water from Jan 1st 2002 until such time as secure tenure is granted. Sadly, this has already been reported as "No Tourist Anglers Welcome" which we regret very much.

(iii) All National Angling bodies have been contacted to review the new measures and asked to support our campaign, as these evictions are a threat to all anglers.

It is vital that all affiliated members understand that (i) above includes our full opposition to the 'one fish per day' which Minister Fahey signed into law on the 21st December 2001 without any consultation with us. Minister Fahey flagged his intention to introduce such a measure as far back as a night in last July when he announced another restriction on anglers, namely, the ban on the sale of rod caught fish. At that announcement Minister Fahey met and promised FISSTA two things.

1. A meeting in September to review the license book as agreed the previous February in Galway.

2. To ask the Chairman of the National Salmon Commission Joey Murrin to examine our complaints regarding the anti conservation agreement of the Laune Catchment Management Programme which to this day undermines the NSC objective of setting quotas.

Neither of the above were kept to date and in the case of the review, requests for that meeting in October, November and December 2001 went unheeded. Sadly, we now face potential confrontation with fishery officers on the riverbank due to this breach of promise by Minister Fahey.

To add insult to injury, Minster Fahey undermines the voluntary effort of the NSC members as he said the NSC advised him on the one fish rule. FISSTA challenge the contention by some sources that our representative on the National Salmon Commission Martin Mc Enroe voted in favour of the 'one fish per day' measure. No such vote took place on NSC and our policy to oppose such a measure will continue until a buyout of the commercial driftnets is completed.