Angry anglers see red over pike claims

The trout versus pike fishing war was reignited this week when the bodies representing thousands of anglers excoriated Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) for its latest research.

The National Anglers Representative Association (NARA) and Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland (TAFI) issued a scathing analysis of IFI’s latest research into pike management in Ireland.

And they warned that the dispute is likely to “escalate”.

However, the IFI – the state body responsible for the protection, conservation and management of the country’s inland fisheries – has hit back and issued a rebuttal.

In a statement to this newspaper, IFI lashed the two anglers’ organisations for issuing “threats” which were “unhelpful” and urged both of the trout angling federations “to take a leadership role and re-engage in the review group”. NARA and TAFI issued a statement this week reiterating that they had initially been participating with IFI’s pike management review, “but felt it necessary to withdraw when it became apparent that IFI were making strategic attempts to influence the outcome of the policy review”.

The two organisations said they rejected the recent research by IFI called “Pike in Ireland: Developing Knowledge and Tools to Support Policy and Management”.

They argued that the research samples were not gathered in accordance with approved methods (European CEN 14757 or O’Grady).

IFI said it “notes some anglers’ concerns” in relation to the methodology but it said it used the “most appropriate” method and “it stands over the methods used and the results of the study”.

In rejecting the research, anglers accused IFI of “ignoring existing research literature that spans six decades and demonstrates that invasive pike numbers must be controlled if the indigenous species are to survive and Ireland is to continue to attract game angling tourists.”

The two angling organisations claimed IFI misrepresented the literature when they published a press statement claiming that research carried out by a doctoral student had concluded that pike were native to Ireland. IFI funded the research that was cited, and the researcher did not conclude that pike are native to Ireland, they said.

IFI, in response, said trout angling federations have “repeatedly and erroneously alleged that IFI has misrepresented an earlier publication on the origins of pike in Ireland”.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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