Long letter to politicians + email addresses!

[x]

This appeared to be popular and has been requested as a sticky...BigBill gets thanks for adding the following to my original post...

The Northern Ireland minister responsible for Environment is Lord Rooker. His e-mail address is

private.office@doeni.gov.uk

He is also responsible for Fisheries.

private.office@dardni.gov.uk

+++ Original post ++++++++

Folks,

For those of you who want to get writing to your elected representatives on an industrial scale (this list is all of members of Dail & Seanad bar about 3 members), this is the distribtion list to use - just copy and paste into the TO: line of your e-mail client. Our mate Pat the Cope's address is at the bottom of the list, I'd CC him on the mail you're sending to the rest of the Dail & Seanad....just so he's under no illusion that this can be kept quiet. I've included a sample mail below the address list.

There are a couple of xxxx s in there - find and replace these with your own details - or write your own message - just stick to the facts. Every time you mail this list, I suggest at least one per week - don't be a spammer and sit there sending it a hundred times a day, please click the poll so we can see how often this is used. If you get a reply or replies, click the poll once for each individual reply you get.


taoiseach@taoiseach.ie;
michael_ahern@entemp.ie;
noel.ahern@oireachtas.ie;
bernard.allen@oireachtas.ie;
bandrews@oireachas.ie;
sean@ardagh.org;
liam.aylward@agriculture.gov.ie;
dboyle@oireachtas.ie;
johnny.brady@oireachtas.ie;
martin.brady@oireachtas.ie;
pat.breen@oireachtas.ie;
minister@transport.ie;
seamus.brennan@oireachtas.ie;
thomas_p_broughan@oireachtas.ie;
john.browne_ff@oireachtas.ie;
john.bruton@oireachtas.ie;
richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie;
joan.burton@oireachtas.ie;
ivor.callely@oireachtas.ie;
pat.carey@oireachtas.ie;
john.carty@oireachtas.ie;
paudge.connolly@oireachtas.ie;
b.cooper_Flynn@oireachtas.ie;
joe.costello@oireachtas.ie;
minister@welfare.ie;
simon.coveney@oireachtas.ie;
brian.cowen@oireachtas.ie;
jerry.cowley@oireachtas.ie;
j.cregan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie;
sean.crowe@oireachtas.ie;
ccuffe@oireachtas.ie;
martin.cullen@finance.irlgov.ie;
john.curran@oireachtas.ie;
jdeenihan@eircom.net;
webmaster@dcmnr.gov.ie;
noel.dempsey@oireachtas.ie;
jimmy.devins@oireachtas.ie;
bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie;
john.ellis@oireachtas.ie;
denglish@oireachtas.ie;
minister@marine.irlgov.ie;
michael.finneran@oireachtas.ie;
dermot.fitzpatrick@oireachtas.ie;
sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie;
mildred_fox@oireachtas.irlgov.ie;
eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie;
jim.glennon@oireachtas.ie;
pgogarty@oireachtas.ie;
johngormley@eircom.net;
tony.gregory@oireachtas.ie;
minister.hanafin@taoiseach.ie;
sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie;
seamus.healy@oireachtas.ie;
joe.higgins@oireachtas.ie;
michael.higgins@oireachtas.ie;
philip.hogan@oireachtas.ie;
brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie;
joe.jacob@oireachtas.ie;
paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie;
enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie;
tony.killeen@oireachtas.ie;
tom.kitt@iveagh.gov.ie;
tom.kitt@oireachtas.ie;
brian.lenihan@oireachtas.ie;
conor.lenihan@oireachtas.ie;
kathleen.lynch@oireachtas.ie;
james_mcdaid@oireachtas.ie;
minister@justice.ie;
john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie;
liz.mcmanus@oireachtas.ie;
micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie;
gay.mitchell@oireachtas.ie;
olivia.mitchell@oireachtas.ie;
michael@michaelmoynihantd.ie;
michael.mulcahy@oireachtas.ie;
denis.naughten@oireachtas.ie;
daniel.neville@oireachtas.ie;
mj.nolan@oireachas.ie;
michael.noonan@oireachtas.ie;
ocaolain@oireachtas.ie;
coconnor@oireachtas.ie;
aire@pobail.ie;
liz.odonnell@oireachtas.ie;
ministersoffice@dast.gov.ie;
denis.odonovan@oireachtas.ie;
roryohanlon@oireachtas.ie;
fomalley@oireachtas.ie;
brian.oshea@oireachtas.ie;
aosnodaigh@oireachtas.ie;
jan.osullivan@oireachtas.ie;
tom_parlon@finance.gov.ie;
seamus.pattison@oireachtas.ie;
john.perry@oireachtas.ie;
ppower@oireachtas.ie;
ruairi.quinn@oireachtas.ie;
pat.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie;
michael.ring@oireachtas.ie;
dick.roche@oireachtas.ie;
eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie;
eoin.ryan@oireachtas.ie;
sean.ryan@oireachtas.ie;
trevor.sargent@oireachtas.ie;
roisin.shortall@oireachtas.ie;
brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie;
emmet.stagg@oireachtas.ie;
david.stanton@oireachtas.ie;
billy.timmins@oireachtas.ie;
mary.upton@oireachtas.ie;
mary.wallace@oireachtas.ie;
minister@agriculture.gov.ie;
michael.woods@oireachtas.ie;
gv.wright@oireachtas.ie;
james.bannon@oireachtas.ie;
office@ejbohan.com;
pbradford@eircom.net;
cbrady@oireachtas.ie;
fergal.browne@oireachtas.ie;
paddy.burke@oireachtas.ie;
noel.coonan@oireachtas.ie;
margaret.cox@oireachtas.ie;
maurice.cummins@oireachtas.ie;
brendan.daly@oireachtas.ie;
john.dardis@oireachtas.ie;
timmy.dooley@oireachtas.ie;
geraldine.feeney@oireachtas.ie;
frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie;
liam.fitzgerald@oireachtas.ie;
jim.gibbons@oireachtas.ie;
jhanafin@oireachtas.ie;
brian.hayes@oireachtas.ie;
mary.henry@oireachtas.ie;
jim.higgins@oireachtas.irlgov.ie;
brendan.kenneally@oireachtas.irlgov.ie;
rory.kiely@oireachtas.ie;
michael.kitt@oireachtas.ie;
terry.leyden@oireachtas.ie;
don.lydon@oireachtas.ie;
michael.mccarthy@oireachtas.ie;
derek.mcdowell@oireachtas.ie;
mmacsharry@oireachtas.ie;
mmansergh@oireachtas.ie;
jminihan@oireachtas.ie;
david.norris@oireachtas.ie;
joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie;
labhras.omurchu@oireachtas.ie;
ann.ormonde@oireachtas.ie;
mary.o'rourke@oireachtas.ie;
jotoole@oireachtas.ie;
kieran.phelan@oireachtas.ie;
himself@feargalquinn.ie;
shane.ross@oireachtas.ie;
brendan.ryan@oireachtas.ie;
sheila.terry@oireachtas.ie;
joanna.tuffy@oireachtas.ie;
jim.walsh@oireachtas.ie;
kate.walsh@oireachtas.ie;
mwhite@oireachtas.ie;
diarmuid.wilson@oireachtas.ie;


webmaster@dcmnr.gov.ie



Dear Sir/Madam,

I write to bring to your attention the growing dissatisfaction among recreational sea anglers (RSAs) and indeed fresh-water anglers with current Irish government and European policies regarding the utilisation and protection of our dwindling fish stocks.

For many years now, we have watched our right of access to our fish stocks bartered away at the request of our European partners and our voice as a group ignored in favour of the interests of the domestic fishing lobby. Indeed, little has been done to protect and enhance our inland waterways which are both a vital piece of our environment and the basis of a significant amount of our tourism.

We have long been a voice for conservation and reason in these areas, among others. Many of us have been RSAs for many years and have watched in mounting horror as successive governments have allowed the wholesale decimation of our fish stocks and systematically permitted and indeed actively assisted in the virtual annihilation of a number of species.

It has probably come to your notice that there is an increasingly vocal campaign to have drift netting for salmon stopped completely, spearheaded by the Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now (SSDNN) group, a not-for-profit organisation. I encourage you to visit their web site at http://www.stopnow.ie and read of their concerns in detail for yourself.

This is by no means the extent of the concerns of anglers, thousands of them, all over this country. Indeed, in the case of the salmon, this is of growing concern to Scottish, Welsh and English anglers and those whose livelihood depends on angling tourism as well.

Similarly, the fate of bass in both UK and Irish waters depends on the actions of all, not just one country. More information on this topic can be found at http://www.ukbass.com. We are already a good example to the world in this country for our measures and indeed actions to protect and restore our bass stocks.

Many other species, most notably cod, are also under severe pressure from overfishing by commercial netters. It appears that in the face of all available scientific evidence and advice that quotas and total allowable catches are far too high to be sustainable, yet we have whitefish fleet renewal programmes to build more, bigger and more effective vessels which will put increased pressure on the cod and other species.

We are also seriously concerned about the paucity of resources and legislative powers to protect our fish stocks. We need more transparency and accountability for vessels, both domestic and foreign, who fish our waters. We urge you to consider an increase in the numbers of fishery protection staff and vessels and other resources. Indeed, many anglers, if you follow the angling press, have reported incidents of poaching only to be told that there is no evening and weekend patrols on our inland waterways. In light of the increasing volume of poaching by foreign nationals, who are well aware of this lack, we feel that the protection of our waters must be on a 24/7/365 basis. In what other sporting activity, I put to you, are there already thousands - perhaps tens of thousands - of volunteers, abroad at all hours of the day and night, ready to assist in the protection of fish stocks and the environment?

The practices of many commercial fishermen, again both domestic and foreign, are truly abhorrent. In particular, the use of mono and multi-filament static gill nets which indiscriminately catch any species, whether of commercial value or otherwise. This results in a large by-catch which is dumped overboard, dead, to rot at sea. Worse still, the practice by foreign gill net vessels, particularly but not limited to the Spanish and Portugese fleets, of leaving their gill nets in Irish waters while the return home to land their catch. On their return, when they retrieve their nets most of the catch in those nets is unfit for human consumption and dumped - all to save a little time on the round trip by not carrying the additional weight of their fishing gear. Furthermore, their practice of repairing these nets at sea, cutting away and dumping overboard the miles of non bio-degradable netting, retaining only the ropes means that there are now many miles of netting ensnaring fish uselessly, and will continue to do so for hundreds of years. Many of our commercial trawling fleet will trawl close inshore, seeking to scrape up what few fish may be seeking a last refuge there. These vessels know that they do wrong, hiding as they do their registration details, running at night without navigation lights in the hope that none will notice them.

Until recently, most people outside the sport were unaware of the value of angling. The benefits to the Irish economy was recently estimated at ?55 million annually. The tourism industry in particular stands to lose, with the associated job losses, as foreign anglers increasingly see Ireland as a less desirable destination for trout and salmon angling due to the damage caused to fish stocks by drift nets - upon which the vast bulk of the figure quoted above is based - our inland waterways are under steady attack from pollution and poaching, not to mention other ills which we need resources to tackle, such as the infestations of zebra mussels and various non-native water plant species.

The above figure, I feel, does not take account of the value of domestic anglers to the economy of this country. Certainly, I have never been asked how much I spend by any group who has compiled and published figures. At a conservative estimate for the last 12 months, I personally have spent well over ?xxxx in angling related activity in this country. I'm sure that many, many of my thousands of fellow anglers have spent similar amounts. Yet our contribution to this country cannot be counted merely in financial terms but affects hotels and other accommodation providers, charter boats, chandlers, tackle and bait dealers - the list is too long to complete here.

You may not be aware that most anglers are keen conservationists. We practice this in the hope that the fish stocks we pursue will survive for our descendants. Many of us are in a position to observe and report the abuses of fish stocks and the environment - which we do. The lack of resources to pursue and prosecute offenders in any meaningful way is heartbreaking. Nevertheless, we encourage our children to take an interest in the sport, teaching them respect for their environment, showing them that there is more to life and recreation than hanging about street corners or watching television - or worse.

We feel, as a group, that we have much to bring to the table in the development of future fishing policy, environmental protection and conservation but are denied a voice. I appeal to you to be that voice. There are many thousands of anglers nationally in various angling clubs, keen to support anyone who will raise our concerns to the levels of government where notice will be given, action taken.
Our suggestions to reduce pressure on our fishing stocks and give a voice to anglers are:-

1) A total ban on use or sale of mono and multi-monofilament gill and drift nets.
2) A ban on trawling within 6 mile limit.
3) No netting of any description within 3 miles of the low water mark.
4) Creation of and an increase in the protection for spawning / nursery areas.
5) Closed seasons to protect spawning fish.
6) Involve angling groups like the IFSA in consultation processes.
7) Commission a full survey of all recreational anglers to determine our economic input.
8 ) Increase minimum sizes and reduce quotas for commercially exploited species.
9) Increased fishery protection resources.
10) Much tighter oversight of domestic and foreign vessels as regards landings, gear etc
11) An end to the practices of marine dumping and aggregate extraction.

Please visit our club web site at http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org. We're a recent development in terms of angling clubs, there are many more in this country who have been active for years. Familiarise yourself with the domestic and UK angling press. Common periodicals include Irish Angler, Irish Angler's Digest, Sea Angler and Total Sea Fishing. The same issues face anglers in the UK and Ireland - the difference is that in the UK, angling is recognised and has political recognition for the size of it's membership and the potential for votes, tourism and other revenue it represents.

Should you require further information on any of the issues I?ve touched on here, please feel free to ask. If you would like to meet at a time of your convenience to discuss these issues further, I would be please to take the opportunity to meet with you.


Yours Sincerely,

xxxx (<--add your name)
I.F.S.A membership number: xxxx
S.A.C.N membership number: xxxx
Supporter of: http://www.stopnow.ie
http://www.ukbass.com
Regular contributer to: http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org

[Codswallop]

All Done!!!!

Great stuff lads!!!

Codswallop

[pete]

Good work there Sandman, suppose the only way to get anything changed is to make as much noise as possible.

Pete