IFI have just launched an exciting opportunity for recreational sea anglers in the Republic of Ireland to become citizen scientists and help collect information on fishing effort and catches around the coastline. By doing so they will be playing a vital role in the long-term conservation and sustainability of the resource for future generations.
The Irish Marine Recreational Angling (IMREC) project aims to answer three main questions:
- How many people fish?
- How often do they fish?
- What do they catch?
By collecting this information it will inform knowledge around trends in stock levels and the sustainability of key species. The data collected will inform fisheries management decisions regarding the sustainability of marine fish stocks. By having strong evidence and verifiable data around fish stocks, accurate decisions can be made rather than having to take a worst-case view which can happen when there is limited or no information.
The IMREC Diary aims to allow anglers log fishing sessions on their phones or other device and contribute to the evaluation of our marine stocks. Once a session is logged, anglers can then view it from their own personalised dashboard. This dashboard would give an angler a snapshot of all their fishing sessions or drill down into each individual session, identifying the fish caught, photos of the fish, location and other notes they may have recorded. Further dashboard elements are also available at a species level (lengths (cm), total caught etc.).
As we are anglers ourselves, we know the importance of fishing marks to anglers. As such, your sessions will only be viewable by you and the IMREC team.
If this would interest you, the IMREC initiative is now live and can be viewed here. To take part, All you have to do is click this link or send your name and email to [email protected] with the subject line “IMREC Diary Sign Up” and we will get you signed up.
A full FAQ along with further information on the project can be accessed through our website. If you have any further queries about the IMREC project or the diary, please email [email protected].
