Displaying items by tag: River Lackagh

Q: Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

29th May 2017

Innovative Fish Counter Opens On Donegal’s River Lackagh

The River Lackagh is an important salmon fishery and the new counter aims to measure the strength of its recovery

#Angling - Sean Kyne TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Inland Fisheries, has officially opened a new fish counter facility in the designated spring salmon fishery on the River Lackagh.

The project, which was devised and delivered by Inland Fisheries Ireland, was completed in recent months and will provide important data for the future management of spring salmon, grilse and sea trout stocks for the River Lackagh catchment, which incorporates Lough Beagh, situated in Glenveagh National Park.

This major infrastructural project, which was funded under IFI’s Salmon Conservation Fund, includes installation of a crump weir, Logie fish counter and access road to the Lackagh River at Creeslough, Co Donegal.

The counter will provide verifiable, accurate data on the size, duration and timing of fish migration through the fishery.

The River Lackagh counter project was developed by IFI in response to closure of the River Lackagh salmon fishery in 2007, when scientific advice indicated that salmon stocks had fallen to below their conservation limit.

The salmon fishery remained closed to enable fish stocks re-build until 2013 when electrofishing surveys confirmed that juvenile salmon stocks had recovered sufficiently to allow for the re-opening of the salmon fishery on a ‘catch and release’ basis.

IFI says the new counter will be a valuable addition to its national suite of index counters and represents the organisation’s first counter on the north Donegal coast.

Minister Kyne said he is “delighted to officially open this fish counter which will help protect fish stocks in the area. Angling is a valuable asset to local communities here in Donegal. This development will help us ensure the sustainability of fish populations for future generations.”

IFI chief executive added: “This fish counter provides real time data on fish stocks in the fishery and allows us to adapt to changing stock levels. This is crucial both from a conservation and economic viewpoint as this fishery contains valuable wild fish populations.

“I would like to acknowledge all our partners in this project who recognised the importance of this project and worked with us to delivery this facility for the local area.”

Angling in Ireland currently contributes €836 million to the Irish economy annually, supporting upwards of 11,000 jobs which are often in rural and peripheral communities.

IFI’s National Strategy for Angling Development aims to ensure the sustainable development of the natural angling resource in a conservation focused manner. If realised, the strategy could help increase the economic contribution of angling by €53 million annually and support 18,000 jobs.

IFI collaborated with several partners on the River Lackagh project including Donegal County Council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and ESB Networks. IFI also acknowledges the assistance of Creeslough & District Angling Association, owners Hillary Keegan and John Coyle and service providers WD Buchanan & Co Ltd, H Harkin Plan Hire Ltd and Source Civil Ltd.

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Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities.

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

What is marine leisure tourism?

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

What marine leisure tourism studies have been conducted in Ireland?

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

What were the results of the NUI marine leisure tourism study?

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.