The 'Future Of The Erne Fishery' conference was held at the Manor House Hotel on February 26 from 1-5pm, with the well-attended event hearing from anglers of all disciplines.

Martin Allen, Development Officer for Ulster Angling Federation, said: “This was a very well attended event with all our allocation of 100 tickets due to Covid-19 taken for the event.

“It saw anglers from all disciplines of game, coarse and pike fishing come together, with concerns regarding the decline in Lough Erne fishing over recent years.

"This has a massive impact not just on anglers, but to the economy of the Fermanagh area, with a vast reduction in the number of visiting anglers coming to fish the Lough Erne system, which was once – and hopefully will be again – the jewel in the crown of our public angling estate.

"In comparison, the Moy river system in Sligo and Mayo is recorded as bringing in €32 million per year to the local economy,” he said.

The delegates heard talks from a range of speakers, including Albert Keys, Erne Rivers Trust; Kerry Anderson, NIEA water Management Unit; Art Niven, DAERA Inland Fisheries; Dr. Robert Rosell, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute; Michael Short, trout and salmon columnist; and Stephen Hey, Chairman, Kesh Anglers.

Mr. Allen wished to especially say: “We would like to thank all the speakers, and Peter from the RNLI, who was present all day carrying out lifejacket inspections, as well as the audience, many of whom had travelled long distances.”

Describing the conference, Mr. Allen said: “It was very emotive and often passionate around the fate of the Lough Erne as a fishery.

"The whole room had one thing in common – and that was to move forward with an action plan before it was too late.

"The representatives who spoke were left in no doubt of the deficiencies and the key issues [which were raised were] hydro-dams, and the cross-Border issue of water quality, and the need for a proper management plan for this mixed fishery.”

Concluding, Mr. Allen said: “This [a management plan] is something we intend to strive to achieve and we want to continue to bring agencies, politicians and anglers together to see an improvement in Lough Erne as a fishery, and [to keep fostering] a benefit for the whole, wider Fermanagh area.”