Institute of Fisheries Management Holds its Annual Conference In Belfast
Date published:
The Institute of Fisheries Management held its annual conference at the Hilton Hotel, Belfast from 10-12 October.
Created in 1969, the Institute has a membership in the UK and Ireland of circa 1,000 fisheries professionals in all fields of fisheries management. This includes Government, Fisheries and Environmental Services and Agencies, University and other scientists, regulatory and enforcement staff, Environmental Consultancies, Fish Farmers, Anglers, Fishery Managers, Rivers Trusts and other NGOs. There are 10 regional branches in Great Britain and Ireland. The Northern Ireland and Irish National Branch merged to become the Ireland Branch in 2007.
The event was hosted by the Ireland Branch of the Institute, which is chaired by Robert Rosell of AFBI and formally opened by John Speers of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Environment, Marine and Fisheries Group.
Among the 140 attendees were high level representatives of all the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Inland fisheries organisations including the Governmental commissioning departments and the Chief Inland Fisheries Officers and CEOs.
The conference was major success with a combination of scientific and practical papers and also field study trips to Strangford Lough and Lough Neagh Fishermen’s co-operative.