Guiding For Bass - Not all locations are equal

The key to any successful and sustainable tourism initiative is achieved through a clear sense of difference from other competing destinations or services. For me as a bass fishing guide this was achieved by basing any development and marketing strategy on the local attributes and strengths of Wexford as a bass angling destination. This was combined with the unique varied and challenging angling coastal environments, heritage sites and abundant local flora and fauna including of course the fish. It was within this world that I chose to guide for bass on a full time basis.

Working on articles for angling publication or my site I attempted to portray both Ireland and Wexford in a very positive light. Whilst delivering my workshops or whilst guiding for bass this was done in a fashion that emphasised the importance of ‘where we were going’. I tried to achieve this by making the most interesting photographs and words that I could, not only of the fish but of the people who were fishing with me capturing the environment and time in which they found themselves either being guided or during learning . There are many things other than fishing that make any trip to Ireland worthwhile, and it was important for me to remember that when I was out there working as a guide. Not only was I looking to capture that ‘trophy’ moment, but I was also hoping to record the influences, the many different environments that were shaping peoples experiences of the country in which they were investing a lot of personal time. The culture, the lifestyle, the history of Wexford all played a part in shaping a sense of authentic service.

Not only was it important for me to realise that each experience was unique, but by spending time in many of the different bass fishing environments and places of local heritage and culture enabled people to understand the interdependence and influences that one environment has upon another. It is only through this understanding and wider sense of enjoyment that a much greater appreciation and understanding, advocacy and empathy for the protection and conservation of the coastal resource in all its aspects  truly developed in peoples minds.

The richer the experience that was offered to the guided angler the greater was the chance of diversification into the local community and the support of ancillary services. Good food, good traditional music, immersion in modern Irish life, quality Irish made product, indeed visiting anglers couldn’t find this ‘uniqueness’ at home, hence it created a special trust between guide and angler. The foundation of  any guiding service.

However, I was always conscious that over-selling a product could have a negative impact on any business, especially a fishing guiding service. Angling guided services should not to be encouraged or developed for their singular sense of ‘self promotion’ ‘look at me I’m a guide’.  To be successful as a guide is to be many things but bass guiding in Wexford was mainly about not standing in isolation but rather about building a small community based economic and local development tool aligned to creating a total ‘local’ and sustained experience.

There needs to be a reduction in the the modern craven urgency expressed frequently in the over utilisation of angling journalism and various media as a means to secure customers or build 'angling credibility'. A decrease of the obsessive culture of ‘self with fish’ portraits or look at my new gear obsessions might serve long term and sustained development better rather than quick fix ego shots.

The facilitation of manipulated social media reportage that serves no real end in achieving competence proves ultimately fruitless and in fact damages the fishery.

There’s a fine line between selling the fishing and managing the corresponding impact on your future clients realistic expectations. A good guide will always try to strike that balance especially when linked with important locations, the fish that live there and their continued protection management.

Not all locations are equal...hard choices and decisions need to be made with long term sustainability in mind.

The careful management of my guiding service into other local tourism networks and taking sensible opportunities to work and demonstrate allegiance with other local similar businesses with diverse but related experience and knowledge (fly tyers, fly casters, other guides, or accomodation providers) was a large part of business development for me. This strategy even today projects confidence, enhances profile and indeed professional credibility. It also strengthens possible partnerships that can create foster and extend networked interdependent strategic relationships across local coastal communities, conservation groups and activity providers. 

The Wexford environment doesn’t possess dramatic, jaw-dropping scenery. It doesn’t have the ruggedness or sense of wilderness that you get on the west coast. It doesn’t have outstanding architecture. What Wexford does have is a multiplicity of different smaller environments and opportunities that are much more complex and which interact in a way that is so subtle it can almost be overlooked. 

You must look closely, almost discover each one be it cultural, natural, or historical in order to experience the fullest and greatest depth of detail. To be transformed by the time invested.

Ultimately an ‘experience’ a ‘transformation’  is what I tied to create for my angling customers, the readers and visitors to my blog. By facilitating people into a multiplicity of venues, the sanctuary of estuaries, the excitement of rocky shores, the thrill of fast moving, powerful currents, the more likely they were to see and feel the ‘Wexford Bass Angling Experience’ that I tried to create.

“EVEN AFTER SPENDING A LIFETIME OF FISHING FOR BASS IN THESE VENUES I REALISED EVENTUALLY THAT WE WERE SIMPLY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE OF POSSIBILITY, IT WAS BOUNDLESS IN TERMS OF TECHNIQUES, METHODS, PRESENTATIONS…”

Most seasoned travellers will know that to expect too much is to invite disappointment. “There are not as many fish as I expected”, “The fish are smaller than I expected”, “The weather is different than in my own country”. The weather is the major stage on which all the elements will perform. In Ireland that factor is enough to strike fear into the heart of any guide. It’s simply not possible to plan at times. Some seasons were extremely difficult for bass fishing. And this is where the paradox lies. Wexford has its own unique environments, it has its own sense of itself and it has a superb saltwater sporting fish that performs admirably on fly or lure. But it performs only on the basis of two key elements one which is predictable (the moon) the other (the weather) is not so regular.

The portrayal of the fishing and the fishing environment must always reflect a performance risk accurately and fairly to visiting anglers.

We all know yes, that at different times bass can be caught with many different methods. All anglers have their preferences and the more sporting the method employed the more the weather will impact negatively upon that method. It will force you into circumstances where you need to ‘angle’ much more creatively and efficiently. By combining the environmental impact and the challenges that the weather creates for lure and especially fly-fishing, this fusion of influences must somehow manage to enhance the experience by transforming the customer beyond the angling difficulty. 

What is achieved easily in bass fishing is often forgotten quickly with little or no understanding of its significance, this is true of technique, local information and angling presentations. There is always much more than this that needs to be experienced. We need to be transformed to fully understand the larger picture.

In other words, it was not always easy for an international bass angler to come to Wexford to catch bass at the drop of a hat. It could take time and effort, patience and depending on circumstances this could have been days, weeks or even years.

When it was difficult it was always the smaller decisions, the glimpses of fish in a wave, the perfect cast into a gale, the surface strike in pouring rain –moments of genuine satisfaction that made the fishing what it was. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it was easy, it was not! At times the sun shone and every fish was big and silver and each cast produced a miracle. Those were the days that we fished for.

But remember too – Wexford was and is currently challenging, but it has many different rewards if you know where to look. If you like to discover whats local and unique and what will ultimately transcend less important things then remember too what can truly transform you

‘AT THE TIMES THE SUN
DOES SHINE AND EVERY FISH IS BIG
AND SILVER AND EACH CAST
PRODUCES A MIRACLE, OR NEARLY, AND MEMORIES ARE FORGED IN GOOD COMPANY AND SURROUNDINGS.

IS IT HOW YOU GOT HERE?

OR IS IT ALWAYS THE FISH? ’

Inland Fisheries Ireland Bass Policy

National Bass Policy by Policy Group

Once

Once it was just binoculars. Then hidden cameras and infrared video. Today, keeping an even closer eye on nature, computerised mini electronics and spies in the sky track the travels and habits of creatures great and small.

Bulky radio collars are just about tolerated by lions, tigers, wolves and bears. Miniature lightweight transmitters are stuck to the backs of birds, bats and even butterflies. Now deep-ocean animals report on their wanderings by attachments that pop up to the surface, on command, and send radio packages of data to satellites. These trace the course of long journeys, the nursery and feeding grounds, the depths of dives, the temperature and salinity of the water, and levels of light.

Around Ireland such “tags” have been fixed to basking sharks, porbeagles and blue sharks, bluefin tuna, leatherback turtles and sunfish. Some of these tags have tracked transatlantic migrations. But some species can be less accommodating. Leatherback turtles, for example, need to be captured first – often rescued from entanglement in nets or ropes – and fitted with a harness to carry the tag.

• Eye on Nature: Your notes and queries

But how do you engineer a 50cm fish to report on its travels? This summer has seen more tracking of the movements of sea bass, Ireland’s most prized catch of inshore angling and a fish in dire need of conservation. A collaboration of the Marine Institute andUniversity College Cork mounted a study that began in Cork Harbour and has since widened to the coast of Co Wexford. Implanting the bass with tiny acoustic transmitters, it tracks their signals by receivers mounted on buoys around the southeast and retrieved, once a fortnight, by computer at UCC.

The fish are caught by the region’s many bass enthusiasts – the sort of angler found in winter braced waist deep in tables of windblown surf to cast a lure beyond the third wave. In summer, however, bass move into estuaries to chase shoals of sand eels, which makes catching them a more comfortable challenge.

Fitting the tiny transmitter involves delicate surgery, with a preliminary anaesthetic bath and fresh seawater piped through the gills. An incision in the belly implants the transmitter, the skin is stitched up, and the bass, after recovery in a bucket of oxygenated seawater, then swims strongly to freedom (so I am assured), its progress marked by electronic pings.

This silvery, muscular, but slow-growing fish – a five-kilo female might be 16 years old – was once prolific around the southern coasts of Ireland. Commercial overfishing through the later 20th century concentrated on Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney, but was halted by government order in 1990, with a two-fish-a-day bag limit also extended to anglers.

That protection was echoed this spring by an EU ban on commercial fishing of bass around most of Ireland and Britain, and a recreational-angling limit of three bass a day from the top of the North Sea around the south to Dingle, including the Irish Sea.

The Irish conservation laws did indeed produce a local rise in bass numbers, as young females grew to maturity, and a new influx of tourist anglers to Wexford and the southeast. But the good years have not held up since 2007. Among delegates to a conference at Dublin Castle last September was the Wexford angling writer and bass enthusiast Ashley Hayden. After 24 years of conservation, he declared, “estuaries, headlands, beaches and tide races from Carnsore Point to Galway Bay should be alive with midweight bass in the four- to six-pound bracket. Sadly and mysteriously they are not.”

Source – Michael Viney – Irish Times News Review – Saturday August 22nd

Further extensions

Published on Wednesday 20th May 2015

Coveney welcomes proposed ban on fishing for sea bass in waters around Ireland

The new regime will extend Ireland’s ban on seabass fishing to all EU vessels
Minister Simon Coveney TD, today strongly welcomed an EU Commission proposal for a comprehensive prohibition on commercial fishing for seabass in the Irish & Celtic Seas which underpins the conservation actions already taken by Ireland with regard to this vulnerable stock.
The Minister said “Ireland has had stringent measures in place for the protection of seabass, a very important angling species, for a long number of years. However, those measures only applied to Irish vessels. I have been very active over the past six months, lobbying the EU Commission and relevant Member States, on this issue. I am delighted that the EU finally recognises the lead taken by Ireland by extending our ban on commercial fishing to all EU vessels operating in the waters around Ireland.”
Minister Coveney added “The scientific advice for seabass is very worrying and we must all do our utmost to protect this stock. Ireland has been to the forefront in being the only EU Member State to afford maximum protection to this stock and today’s proposal will enhance that protection by making the Irish model obligatory for all EU vessels in the Irish & Celtic Seas.”
Once the measures are approved by the Council of Ministers, all commercial fishing for seabass will be prohibited in the waters around Ireland.

- See more at: http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/COVENEY_WELCOMES_PROPOSED_BAN_ON_FISHING_FOR_SEABASS_IN_WATERS_AROUND_IRELAND.html#sthash.xOnf8Xjp.dpuf

Second amendment of the Fishing Opportunities Regulation fixing for 2015 the fishing opportunities in the North Sea and in the Atlantic

(20/05/2015) The European Commission has today announced a further proposal aimed at halting the decline of sea bass in the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea, Channel and North Sea.
The Commission’s proposal is the third of a series of proposals in relation to this stock this year. This proposal is addressed to the Council of Fisheries Ministers and will enable the ministers to decide about catch limits for particular fishing gears in order to protect sea bass. The Commission's proposal would also allow extending a prohibition, currently applied to Irish fishing vessels, to all Member State vessels in waters adjacent to Ireland.

Sea bass is a high value, iconic species for recreational and commercial fishermen; we need to act to address the declining state of the stock, to protect jobs and livelihoods. If the EU does not act decisively now, the risk for greater and long term losses to this valuable fish stock and to coastal communities will be increasing.

Scientific advice has clearly identified the need to drastically reduce catches of this species, following an increase in the fishing pressure and a reduction in reproduction.
Previously the Commission has implemented a short term ban on pelagic trawling until 30th April, preventing the targeting of this species during spawning aggregations. A previous amendment of the fishing opportunities regulation has already introduced a 3 fish bag limit for recreational fishermen.

This latest proposal envisages a maximum catch per month by gear type, limiting the targeting of the vulnerable stock but allowing for incidental catches.
Ireland in the 1990’s introduced a ban on commercial fishing for its flag vessels. This prohibition is proposed to be extended to other Member States in the Waters adjacent to Ireland outside of the UK 12 nm limit by the latest.
It is now up to the Council of Ministers to decide on the Commission's proposal.

David Miller Art

David is pleased to report he has  been shortlisted by Artists And Illustrators Magazine for their annual 'Artist of the Year' award (to be held at the Mall Galleries in January 2015) with his painting 'Bass, Mackerel & Sand-eels'. He would really appreciate it if you could spend 5 minutes to vote for this piece (if you like it of course!). You can find the link here: less http://lnkd.in/bDib9rQ

NWWAC Summary Note Seabass Dublin 18Sept 2014

NWWAC Summary Note InterAC Seabass Wk Dublin 18Sept2014

The beginning AND the end…

Forwarded to - The Irish Bass Policy Group (David McInerny, John Quinlan, Shane O Reilly, Mike Hennessy, Dr William Roche, Dr Nial O'Maoileidigh,) Malcom Gilbert, several members of the IFI and other home based bass fishing customers.
_______________________________________________________________________
I am writing this letter to call to your attention the serious concerns I have for the continued deterioration of the bass population as I have experienced it on the south and eastern coasts of Ireland. As you may know I have fished these coasts on a recreational basis since 1975, I am a bass fishing guide working and developing bass fishing on these coasts on a professional basis since 2002/03. My business South East Angling Ireland was established to provide both guided bass fishing services (fly and lure) and approved accommodation with a view to a holistic approach to the fishing, including airport transfers, provision of modern tackle and singularly strategic bass fishing solutions.

The profile of the traveling, affluent, adventurous and experienced European sportfishing angler was where my target customers lay and whilst historically Wexford may have had a small heritage in relation to bass angling the challenge for me lay in both attracting the correct customer whilst simultaneously demonstrating responsibly the remarkable accessible ‘new’ bass angling environment available in Wexford through my services.

This was a considerable business challenge as Iconic locations like the Kerry coast, the Dingle peninsula, still attracted by default traditional bass angling interests. Added to that challenge the profile of my customer needed to be correct in order to maintain a high level of ‘impact distance’. This meant that customers came to Wexford, fished for a week and left, simple. The likelihood of ‘local interest growth rate/impact’ was minimised.

Inclusive of the years 2003 – 2007 this was largely achieved through keeping a tight lid on advertising of services which was directed entirely at a European and US target audience through various magazine editorials. These were wide ranging and spread with the help of IFI and Failte Ireland between France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, the US and Denmark. Up to this time, end of 2007, both the Irish and UK markets were not where I felt large number of ‘profiled’ customers lay, the market didn’t exist in the UK at this time as ‘modern’ bass lure fishing techniques only began to develop there from late 2007 / 08 in both the UK and Ireland.

I made a considered business decision that any associated ‘local’ advertising would have had a negative impact on my business through creating access to awareness and hence increasing ‘local recreational angling’ impact. Wexford is easily accessible.
However I did feel it necessary at the end of 2007 (for many reasons) to begin to increase the public awareness of the actual existence of an approved bass fishing guiding service and expertise that was available in Ireland at this time. I did this through Irish Angler Magazine, 2007-20011 inclusive. This was also achieved through the active development of my website www.probassfisher.ie from the beginning of 2008.

The core strength of the business lay in the availability of the fish along the SE coast in a multitude of exciting and different locations. Coupled to that was the strategic angling solutions I provided in order to catch the fish effectively (based on thirty years of local experience), the quality accommodation I provided in Wexford town and the accessibility to local support services.

Pre business establishment ‘test cases’ were run to establish the validity of the availability of the fish across the multitude of locations along the Wexford coast - estuaries, current, rocky shore, deep water, sand bars, etc.

The rate of return was calculated very simply as I spent more and more days fishing with customers the key catch base was running at an average of fish per hour per customer. In some locations this could be as high as 8 in others as low as .5 – this depended on the type of location, timing and also the size of fish anticipated or targeted. This was communicated to the customer in relation to their expectations on a day by day basis, but always ‘under estimated’.

It is also important to note that years prior to opening the business this base was strongly in evidence.
The factor that most changed these numbers in relation to catch return at any time was weather of course but this was always a minimal impact on a general day by day basis with the odd exceptional week of complete wipe out.

Location footprint and location frequency was kept to a minimum as I fished across an empty coastline for five years.
The base calculated from 2002 (intro only), into 2003 (beginning), and through the following years 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 remained within 15% +/-25% of my expectations for customer returns. When it didn’t it was always attributable to other external factors.

The operational constraints of the fishery were recognised and established from year one of the business. Growth was restricted by the tidal environment but customer yield was kept high to maintain validity of financial return. There was always the option of an offshore boat to realise the potential of neap tides but this venture has not been pursued as yet. This would effectively increase the business by 50 %.
It is important to know at this stage the weekly guiding service only ran on optimum tidal times (alternate weeks) – approximately 70 days. This was extended at times to over 100 days when conditions were better earlier and later or combined with workshops. This is probably the fullest valid guiding window of opportunity for the south east.
One week June
Two weeks July
Two weeks August
Three weeks September
Two weeks October

On average a visiting group consisted of two people and the majority, 95%, up to this time (2007) were very experienced lure fishermen.

Fishing six days a week for two people at a base of 1.4 fish per hour averaged a seasonal return for 1200 fish. (+/- 200). Many of these fish occupied a similar size bracket. Taking into account the many variables some weeks consisted of only one angler some weeks consisted of three anglers and some weeks were more difficult than others from a perspective of weather, this high return rate NEVER deteriorated below a valid key catch base of average 1.0 per hour for nearly five years.
During 2007 the return rate for the second half of the season deteriorated suddenly by 50% and more (this was under normal expected angling conditions and customer profile) It was also the first of a sequence of very wet summers.

Based on catch returns during the years from 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 and including 2014 to date the catch rate has declined and has continued to decline on a yearly basis to the extent that the recreational bass fishery along much of the south eastern coastline has in my own experience suffered a complete ‘collapse’.
*During 2011 there was an indication of some improvement, however 2012 proved worse than 2010.
For a typical example of this, as it has continued from as early as last week, - Two UK anglers from Wiltshire – lure fishing for six days guided by myself under the best times locations and conditions in Wexford, Waterford, and Cork investing a combined 120 hours of fishing effort for one fish caught – TOTAL. This is now not unusual.
Prior to and including 2007 for the same investment of 120 hours somewhere in the region of 120 fish could easily be expected as a return.

The above scenario is repeated time and time again and the expected return rate has gone from
1.3 fish for one hour investment
TO
1.0 fish for thirty hours of investment – this varies but never significantly increases and hasn’t done so for more than seven years. The fishery has continued to decline very quickly.

Notes - Anglers
• Fish can be caught at times in much localised areas (for instance Splaugh rock) – reefs, current and structure at very specific times. This is not testament to the fishery as a whole. In other words vast areas of coastline hold no fish where previously there was a healthy population
• Local ‘expert’ anglers can have access to these fish but this should not be confused with the ‘general’ bass angler who should at least be enjoying a modicum of success
• Similarly boat angling over offshore reefs or at the mouth of estuaries with soft plastic techniques is not representative of the fishery as a whole
• Depending on the year of beginning to bass fish (the new generation of anglers) the entry was made on a sliding scale if made post 2007. In other words I encountered very few if any bass anglers on the Wexford coast prior to 2007 whilst post 2007 this number increased locally year on year – valid comparisons regarding the fshery need to be made over valid time frames.
• It’s possible for an angler to express ‘good bass angling experiences’ say in 2012 if he started in 2010 – this is not a valid comparison

Notes – Locations / habitat
• There are two extremely special locations on the Wexford cost that still have a population/ number of very big fish – these are very small and difficult to determine locations which may in time help preserve them from rampant local recreational pressure.
• I have guided on these locations once a month for two hours on previous years but will no longer continue to do so
• Modern lure fishing techniques create easy access to larger mature breeding fish of which there is a high angling impact
• All possible high yield locations on the south eastern coasts are now common place knowledge
• Social media quickly highlights any availability of fish on any location

Notes- Illegal fishing and retention
• Whilst there is a lot of catch retention I do not believe it is responsible for the decrease in numbers (there is a high recreational impact however both from poor C+R and retained fish)
• Whilst there is a lot of continued localised illegal netting this has been in existence for many many years, it does have an impact but I don’t believe this has increased by any significant level to cause such a decline in the Wexford region.
• There is evidence of increased and continued illegal netting on the East Cork coast
• Spearfishing is also increasing in popularity
• There remains the extended periods of bad summers 2007 2008 2009 and 2010 combined with two significantly extreme winters which amounted to an extended period of five years ‘poor’ conditions. Whilst I have no scientific evidence of the possible impact on the dynamics of the fish my instinct is that the SE bass population may have moved as a result and to where it was subsequently impacted upon commercially.
• Certain sections of the angling media will portray the quality of the bass fishing as being extremely good whilst neglecting the valid unit of effort (often extraordinary)required to produce any fish. There is often no management in respect of these special locations where large fish reside and a tendency to ‘forget’ the lack of fish on the wider coast.
• Genuine anglers on the ground with good and valid experiences are recognising similar instances.

Conclusions
Since 2003 over three hundred tourist anglers from Europe and the US have used the services of SEAi for guided bass fishing in Wexford. Easily twenty different publications have published positive editorial of their experiences distributed throughout many countries. Video footage has been made and distributed. Many Irish and UK people have attended intro Bass fishing workshops and perhaps as many as half again have partaken in bass fly fishing workshops. Numbers of guided Irish and UK customers remain small with less than ten active people.

Recent 3- day workshops include partnering with Irish fly casting and fly tying experts providing a total saltwater fly fishing solution.

The current situation is certainly a very difficult challenge for me and my business due to the decreasing numbers of fish. And to be honest here there’s no avoiding it, bass are largely absent from our coasts at this time. Talking about it openly has its risks and of course its own complications regarding the possible reasons any or all of which could be a cause for their absence.

Whether it be a natural phenomenon, a change in behaviour or something more serious it’s largely extant around the normal prolific ‘bass coasts’ at this time. For me I need to strike the balance between fairness and expectation with customers currently arriving at my door.

Again yes there are fish to be caught but the unit of effort is enormous, has been for weeks and weeks, in fact years, seasons. I have been personally motivated over the last twenty day run by the positive attitude of my customers, their eagerness to learn new techniques, presentations, casting, and even new locations. As a bass fishing guide I have had to push all my timings, options, variations in equipment and solutions, techniques and experience to be at its very best.
But two anglers for 120 hours of effort for one fish doesn’t make any sense from an angling business perspective. And this is not a singular story but commonplace at this stage.

As a person who largely makes his living from Guided Bass Angling well I guess it’s a very different and worrying perspective than that of a recreational angler. In an unregulated environment mercenary guides from both Ireland and the UK appear and disappear often offering various business models founded on reduced rates or a no catch no fee basis – this does nothing for the guiding occupation as a whole and in fact has a further negative impact on the environment and the fishing.

Having invested heavily in personal development and in the business (just completed a four year BSc degree – Tourism enterprise management at WIT) As a way of trying to ‘manage’ the decline I have reduced guiding days over the past few years, but now I am faced with little or no option at this time but to consider closing the business permanently at the end of this season.

Jim Hendrick

Wexford 2014

		Wexford coast early Spring VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Coastal Tourism–Ireland?

Written by Gillian Mills – www.Inshore-Ireland.com

The European Commission has presented a new strategy to support coastal and maritime tourism in Europe. Recognising the sector's potential for sustainable growth and job creation, the strategy outlines 14 EU actions 'to help coastal regions and businesses tackle the challenges they face and strengthen the sector's position as a key driver of Europe's blue economy'.

Included is a break-down of tasks that Member States, regions and industry stakeholders can undertake to complement the actions. 

The proposed actions include 'facilitating closer cooperation and dialogue across Europe between all coastal tourism stakeholders, public-private partnerships, promoting skills and innovation, promoting ecotourism, and creating an online guide to funding opportunities to help drive investment.

"Coastal and maritime tourism was identified in our 'Blue Growth' strategy as one of the key drivers for creating growth and new jobs, particularly in our coastal areas which often suffer from high unemployment," remarked European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki. 

Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Industry, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Antonio Tajani said he considered tourism to be a "fundamental economic leverage for growth in Europe, around which to build dedicated, consistent and integrated policies.

"A targeted strategy on coastal and maritime tourism highlights the potential of this important sector of tourism and the role it can play to fight unemployment, in particular among young people," he added.

The strategy also outlines challenges such a gaps in data and knowledge; volatile demand; high seasonality; a lack of adequate skills and innovation and difficulties accessing financing. 

'At the same time, it will make the sector's activities sustainable, preserve natural and cultural heritage, reap significant economic and environmental benefits, and help make the sector more competitive globally.'

Background

Coastal and maritime tourism includes beach-based and nautical, cruising or boating tourism and is an essential driver for the economy of many coastal regions and islands in Europe.

It employs almost 3.2 million people, generating a total of €183 billion in gross value-added for the EU economy, representing over one third of the maritime economy gross product. Tourism is a growing business: in 2013, the number of nights spent in hotel or similar establishments reached a peak of 2.6 billion nights in the EU28, up by 1.6% from 2012[1].

Unlocking the potential of coasts and seas would contribute to the wealth and well-being of coastal regions and the EU's economy in general, while ensuring a sustainable and long-term development of all tourism-related activities.

The strategy is to be discussed at a Conference organised with the Greek Presidency on 10 March in Athens, which will bring together authorities and businesses and other stakeholders. 

Gillian Mills – Inshore – Ireland

______________________________________________

Download of Full document available here -

_____________________________________

Some extracts from

Study in support of policy measures for maritime and coastal tourism at EU level
Specific contract under FWC MARE/2012/06 -
SC D1/2013/01-SI2.648530

From page 5

“..although good practices has emerged in the past decades, mainstream business models in maritime and coastal tourism still seem to pose increasingly unsustainable challenges – although to different extents – due to persisting negative externalities in relation to social and environmental consequences for local communities, skills and qualifications of workers, consumption and exploitation of local natural resources.“

From page 16

Niche tourism12 is usually referring to such locations and/or services where “[…] profitability no longer rests solely on economies of scale and the exploitation of mass undifferentiated markets. Economies of scope, systems gains, segmented markets, designed and customised holidays are becoming more and more important for profitability and competitiveness in tourism”13. Niche maritime and coastal tourism therefore focuses on specific added-value services or locations attracting a potential lower volume of visitors, but which may value quality of services better than cost-effectiveness, due to higher spending willingness. This business model has largely benefitted from the recent emergence of new tourism-related social media and telecom services14, therefore allowing more selective and wealthy tourists to access highly personalised experiences through the emergence of dedicated “niche tourism” or even “luxury tourism” web agencies.

Examples of niche tourism are wellness and medical tourism, but also forms focusing on sports, adventure tourism, wildlife, eco,gastronomy and luxury tourism. Related tourism destinations and services are not necessarily grouped by geographic proximity or sea-basins, but are rather spread across coastal regions depending on specific added-value given by local natural and culture resources, or even local business creativity and ability to provide unique services and experiences.

__________________________________________________________________

In the context of all of the above its worth noting a recent comment made to Inshore-Ireland in an article regarding the collapsing Irish inshore fishery

“Also speaking to this paper, Eamon Dixon of the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association said it was only in the last two years that the Sea-fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has been in a position to address the problems.

But he cautions that the current level of control is not a deterrent as the agency is under-resourced, with too many areas to cover: food safety, sampling, EU audits and fisheries control.

“Unlicensed fishing is the norm in the inshore fishery, posing market risks and biological instability and a significant black market economy has developed. If we are serious about tackling this problem, Ireland needs to put real and robust long-term management plans in place on a species by species basis.” 

Source – Inshore-Ireland

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A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bending the sand

“One legged oystercatchers limping along a mirrored strand take off and land again and little waders run quickly in groups backwards and forwards reflected in the shallow waters. The curlews sudden startled cry, a fright, as you walk back a late October estuary the sky already darkening.

All these things bred into your skin into your person into to what you are, into what you have become over years – north winds, south winds, east winds, sunshine, frost, blue skies, rain, salt and sand. The shape, the colour and the sound of the sea the waves that break on the shore into white bass water where you know it will happen, you can sense it, and you know it instinctively.

All these things have built in me over many years – from these countless repeated and yet different experiences and messages I have a sense of where I am – I am home.

And into this you must add the fishing, what you know is what you know because it has been forged in this instinct and experience. You see the gulls struggle against a grey drizzly sky and you get the heavy rod, the #ten, and your heart is racing because its happening and you can be in the middle of it and you move so quickly you hardly remember getting there and you almost run to the location to get a cast off. This is where I am most happy, this is what I understand, have understood for a long time now.

The fishing and the fishing and the fishing. You wait for spring to come and you see the way the winter waves have bent the sand and the sandbars, the new entrances the new exits the different flow and where it was once safe is now dangerous or is now a new fish holding spot. Maybe this year the fish move differently into different places at different times, maybe not and the familiar anxiety and excitement around the arrival of a new season begins again”.

For more about what it means to be a saltwater guide working in Ireland go here

Reality bites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.”  Mark Twain

People Places and fish from 2013

Don’t just do something – stand there P.I

AFTER TEN YEARS

Here’s what I love about guiding, as in guiding as a sustainable responsible business

• It is very difficult and at times very complex
• It is hard, very hard – it really is, the hardest thing I’ve ever done
• It very often has very little to do with fishing
• During a guided day a person will, very often, chat about themselves, the time they have, the things they do, their lives and complexities, the people and the things they deal with on a day by day basis
• Very often at the end of a guided day a person will tend to want to deal with some of those things differently
• People in a guiding environment are very interesting
• It very often has everything to do with fishing

After ten years of working as a bass fishing guide blogging and writing about some of those experiences I have developed a desire to move on from the love of trying to perfect the actual guiding process. This has, over the years, become a slight obsession, and after any number of experiences and a number of qualifications, indeed years of hard work, I have it where I want it, just about. I have it distilled!

Because I am ‘over’ trying to determine and dig out and create the best process of doing it and making it happen I surely know it enough now to forget about it, to stop thinking about it and yet still be able adapt and change it as is necessary, seek to reinvent it appropriately to circumstances– I’ve earned that. That is my reward and I am doing that. I am a good bass fishing guide.

I’ve spent enough time on trying to perceive clarity, to understand the meaning of what it is to bass fish in Ireland as a guide and the wider perception and often misconception of what bass guiding is about. This in itself means I no longer seek to try to understand the frequently expressed opinions and ‘definitions’, the ‘functions’ the ‘modern requirements’ of the bass angler. I know what these really are.

These opinions, wherever they exist, are done too often, done for the sake of supposedly encouraging valuable dialogue, but in reality are done for self serving debate and congratulatory ego snacks, even done for plain old look at me and what I can do.

‘A recent blog documenting the experience of one East London Tesco customer has gone viral this week, prompting the company’s chairman to give his first ever media interview in response.

The tumblr account was started two weeks ago and tells a story of store alarms going off through the night, empty shelves, cluttered aisles and absent staff – all illustrated with comically disastrous photos.

Normally a champion of social media customer service, Tesco reacted quickly and openly stated their in-store ops weren’t up to scratch. Richard Broadbent went so far as to tell The Sunday Times that, in a Digital age, having a good product is no longer enough:

“The company that provides the best relationship with the customer will win – not through product, but through the best experience.”

His sentiments are not unlike those expressed by Michael O’Leary in his recent customer service U-turn. A long-time proponent of product over service, he announced in September that Ryanair is making steps towards improving the user experience of their website.

The real difference arises in customer experience.’ – DMI

Invite to present with Leave no Trace at the IFI AGM

Leave no trace - in guided saltwater fishing

I have been asked to present at the IFI AGM on Wednesday along with other members of Leave No Trace. My short time will be based around how I can and to some extent have already applied the principles to my own business and hopefully how I can carry those principles into a wider sphere of angling tourism as a leave no trace trainer.

“..it served to remind us how fortunate we are in having such a valuable resource to enjoy, but we must also be aware that where we have opportunity we also have great responsibility”

Minister of state for the environment Fergus O’Dowd at The Clean Coast Photography awards last week.

A documentary like no other

A relentless powerful experience of commercial fishing on the New Bedford fishery

Bass fishing in offshore waters

Bass statistics in offshore waters

For 2014 and beyond.

COASTAL DESTINATIONS

Coastal destinations is the new bespoke adventure and saltwater guiding services available from Jim Hendrick during Spring 2014. After ten years of guiding on the southern coasts of Ireland I have changed the services to include a wider range of options and have made a few small changes too.

This alternative was necessary due to a changing fishery, it has taken a long time to learn and the planning and preparation involved is and remains considerable, a hidden part of the job I guess. 

Interest in coastal bass fishing continues and already bookings for 2014 are arriving weekly. Season planner will be up shortly for 2014.

Guided groups will be limited to two people and the minimum guided period is for three days only. Guiding for both fly and lure angling is provided with options to trek and fish and spend some time under the stars also available – all high quality equipment fishing and camping from Patagonia, Lightwave, Echo, and many proven others will also be provided as needed. All transport arrangements are included.

Any person interested in reducing their recreational angling impact on the environment will be interested to hear I will be incorporating a Leave No Trace ethos into our fishing and references to the principles will be a part of our guided fishing day spent together.

As I get time to layout the details more information will become available on www.jimhendrick.com over the next few weeks.

Jim Hendrick  A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

International angling press in Wexford

 

Erstverkaufstag von Fisch&Fliege-Ausgabe 34: 16. Mai 2013. Dieses Mal dürfen Sie sich auf Streamer im Strom, Intruder Flies für Forellen, Wolfsbarschangeln in Irland, Fischen an klaren Gewässern und vieles mehr freuen. Natürlich gibt’s auch wieder nützliches Gerät, viele interessante Veranstaltungen und drei Gratisbeilagen für Fliegenfischer. Genießen Sie 82 Seiten gute Unterhaltung – mit Fisch & Fliege34!

 

Once again the wonderful coastline of Co.Wexford, my own services and the recreational bass fishing opportunities in Ireland feature in international press this month. Fisch & Fliege #34 carry a 5 page editorial featuring a two page spread that’s bound to capture the imagination of many anglers particularly those interested in taking the fish on the fly.

Thanks guys for a brilliant article.

Musky championships 2013

The 2013 Musky Fly Fishing World Championship, Presented by Towee Boats, will be held October 25,26 and 27 at Treeland’s Resort on the famed Chippewa Flowage near Hayward, Wisconsin. This year’s expanded schedule will feature three days of fishing on some of the world’s finest musky waters along with events each evening, new gear presentations, fly tying, Primo Tail’s Musky Ball and special guest angler Kelly Galloup. Proceeds from the event will benefit Wounded Warriors in Action, The Jose Wejebe Foundation / Make A Wish and musky conservation efforts.

The 2012 Musky Fly Fishing World Championship, held near Rock Island, Tennessee, drew anglers from thirteen states and Canada and this year’s field is expected to be even bigger. Angler registration will open on Friday, February 15th. The event website will be updated with 2013 rules, schedules, fees and information on that date. For more information and rules visit www.muskychampionship.com.

This one day catch and release tournament will feature fishing on the Caney Fork and Collins Rivers near McMinnville, Tennessee with proceeds going to Musky conservation efforts. While this is a competitive event, organizers point out that the focus will be on fishing, food and fellowship among a group of great anglers.

Commitment and belief in a fishery and community