Day in the Life Feature- Christine Meehan, Fermoy, South Western River Basin District who works as an Fisheries Officer in the area of fisheries protection
What does a typical day in the life of a fishery officer look like?
I suppose there’s no real typical day because it’s very variable. It depends on what the conditions are like as well as what activities are happening out there. Mostly it would be checking stocks and checking how many anglers are out there. Keeping notes of what you encounter everyday even the smallest observations could be important and mostly just chatting with anglers and getting information from them as well. Also a bit of helping out with research is mixed in there.
Did you always want to be a fishery officer and what persuaded you to become one?
It was actually only when I knew what a fisheries officer was because growing up I never knew about fisheries officers because I lived mostly by the sea and there wasn’t many rivers or lakes where I lived. It was when I was looking for work placement for college and I knew a local fishery officer and I started chatting to her and when she explained the job I thought it sounded good and did my work placement with her. From then on I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
When did you decide you wanted to be a fishery officer and how did you get started?
At that time during my work placement I actually did environmental, protection and development work so I got to see all sides of the organisation and I suppose there I made roots and touched base with a good few people. I made contacts and figured out where I wanted to work in the county.
What is your favourite thing about the job?
I think it just has to be being outdoors all the time, I’m not an office person. I mean it’s a nice break when you’ve got a really bad day outside but for me I just love being outdoors every day. I try and get out of the car as much as possible, even just to walk down the river.
What do you think about the most important skills needed for this position?
People skills really, being able to deal with all sorts of people. Either at a professional level or a casual level as well you know you need to build up a good rapport with people especially with anglers. Also just being easy to talk to and I suppose when you need it being able to make tough decisions as well.
What in your opinion is the biggest challenge facing the fisheries resource?
I think on the education side of things just trying to get people out angling and even if one person out of a whole group starts angling at least that one person will share their love of the rivers and lakes and will hope to try and protect it.
What is the most interesting thing you have discovered or seen in your job?
I think it was being about two feet away from a Kingfisher. We were patrolling a river one day and we were moving along quietly and we realised we were just behind a branch where a Kingfisher was perched. It was special. The wildlife that you get to see is just next to nothing.
What are you most proud of in your working life?
I suppose my integrity, I mean I’m not going to pretend I know everything or what to do in every situation because like that it is very variable. I know that I can trust the people around me and they trust me to do the right thing and if I don’t know what the right thing is they know that I’ll come to them.
What do you do in your spare time to unwind?
Mostly reading or swimming in the sea.
What would you say to someone thinking about a career in fisheries?
I would say just do it. You won’t regret it, if you love the outdoors you will love it
Inland Fisheries Ireland are recruiting for Seasonal Fisheries Officers, to find out more about the roles and how to apply, visit https://inlandfisheriesireland.recruitee.com/.
