STUDENTS OF AN inner-city Dublin school have become the first to take up a pilot programme which sees them learning to fish.
The transition years from CBS James Street are taking part in the joint initiative by Inland Fisheries Ireland and eir, which kicked off in January.
The scheme aims to teach children fly fishing with a view to introducing them to a lifelong hobby. It involves classroom lessons, fieldwork studies and practical exercises.
Aside from classroom based lessons and outdoor exercises, students have also enjoyed field trips to Annamoe Trout Fishery, Wicklow and Courtlough Fishery, Balbriggan in recent week where they practiced their rod skills and fished for rainbow trout using fly fishing methods.
Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development with Inland Fisheries said:
“We hope that the lessons learnt on important issues such as conservation and environmental protection will stay with students through life and that ultimately they will become custodians of our rivers and lakes. We also endeavor to get them hooked on fishing for life so it was fantastic to see a huge amount of skill evident in this group.”
The pilot fisheries education programme will now be reviewed and assessed in terms of future potential roll out in other settings.
Programme
The programme comes as Inland Fisheries launches the Dublin Angling Initiative for the 2017 angling season. The initiative which is focused on the Greater Dublin Area, aims to promote, develop and improve angling among young people in target communities. Young people can take part in the initiative through their school, youth groups or community projects.
Last year, over 500 children and young people from the Dublin area participated in the programme which saw them take fishing lessons, join fishing trips and competitions and enjoy family fishing days. They also received environmental talks and lessons around important issues such as conservation, water quality and fisheries protection.
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