Dear Club Members

The National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) which is the Irish umbrella body representing the interests of game bird shooters and gun clubs in Ireland, together with the Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers (FISSTA) will hold a joint General Meeting of members from both organisations on Friday, 1 st March 2002 at 9 p.m. in St Mary's Parish Hall, off the St Lewis Road (out the Fitzgerald Stadium Road), Killarney, Co Kerry. The meeting will hear a presentation from both organisations on four main issues. The two Associations are seeking a commitment from any prospective candidate in the forthcoming General Election in relation to meeting the concerns of fishing and shooting people. The four issues of concern are set out separately on the attached document.

The combined 41,000 members of NARGC and FISSTA, not to mention their families, are most interested to hear the position of each politician in relation to the matters which are of concern to us. You are therefore cordially invited to the aforementioned meeting to hear the views and voice yours.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Kind regards,

________________

Tommy Lawton.

Hon. Secretary.

The National Association of Regional Game Councils (N.A.R.G.C.) and the Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers (F.I.S.S.T.A.) will make a number of key issues central to securing the votes of both organisations members in the forthcoming general election. The N.A.R.G.C. has over 22,000 members while F.I.S.S.T.A. has 19,000. At a meeting held on 15th November 2002, the two associations agreed a joint election agenda and the full details will be communicated to all members of both houses of the Oireachtas. Both associations say there are four main issues on which they want movement in return for the votes of their combined 41,000 members, plus those of the members families. The four issues are:
a) The protection of sustainable sport angling and shooting rights for resident sportsmen and sportswomen. This means no evictions from traditional shooting lands or fishing waters by the state or any state agency under the guise of catchment management or any other scheme..
b) The establishment of an independent non-judicial appeals procedure for firearms licensing. At present a firearms licence appeal can only be made to the courts, which means a cost to an individual of thousands of pounds. In practical terms, this cost level means that in many cases people are denied access to an appeals procedure.
c) An immediate end to drift netting off the Irish coast which now threatens the Atlantic wild salmon with extinction within a period as short as five years. At present, Ireland is alone internationally in permitting this damaging practice and has come in for severe international criticism to buyout these nets now. Over 75% of the licensed netsmen are already prepared to sell on conservation grounds.
d) A state funding scheme dedicated to game conservation, research and education, for game fish or other game fauna, the administration of which both associations would have a major input into. At present, salmonid fishing and hunting interests are the only ones, which pay millions of pounds, each year in licence fees to the state, quite apart from other substantial revenue associated with their sporting activities, which in the case of N.A.R.G.C. amounts to in excess of IR£21 million per annum.

Noel Carr, Chairman of F.I.S.S.T.A. said ”It is time these matters were addressed now. We do not believe anyone who considers our four issues objectively could fail to appreciate the need to address them. Despite the promise of quotas the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources has yet to introduce an order to stop the outright slaughter of nearly half a million salmon this coming season. Des Crofton, Director of N.A.R.G.C. added “The Wildlife Act states in it’s title that it is an act to secure the conservation of wildlife (including game). Yet, there is no dedicated system, procedure or funding for game, it’s development, research, education etc. Angling and shooting people are spending millions of pounds every year on their sport and on conservation but not a penny is being channelled back. This is no longer acceptable. We appeal to you and your members to attend in large numbers this Friday night in Killarney.