Irish Charter Skippers Association - ICSA News

AGM 2026 on 5th February 2026

15/1/2026

Dear Delegates and Members,

The AGM will be held next month.

📆 Thursday 5th February 2026
🕰️ 11.30 am
🏢 Athlone Springs Hotel
🗺️ R362, Monksland, Athlone, Co. Roscommon, N37 F9T3

New members are welcome on the day, so please spread the word

Agenda
1. Minutes of 2025 AGM
- Adoption of 2025 minutes
2. Matters Arising
3. Honorary Chairman Report - Luke Aston
4. Honorary Secretary Report - Kit Dunne
5. Treasurer Report - Mary Gavin Hughes
6. Annual Accounts - Mary Gavin Hughes
- Approval of Annual accounts
7. Membership Report - John Fleming
8. Election of Officers
9. Election of Regional Delegates
10. Items for discussion
- Pollock
- Spatial Displacement
- Supports for Charter fleet
- Tuna CHART development
- AOB

Find full Agenda HERE

Next AGM

2/1/2026

ICSA AGM
Thu 5th February 2026
11.30 to 13.30 / 14.00
Athlone Springs Hotel, R362, Monksland, Athlone, Co. Roscommon, N37F9T3

Agenda to follow

Tuna CHART programme and new angling methods

18/6/2024

Reply received from the Tuna CHART Group, which agreed to permit two of three new angling methods.

Click HERE to read letter (opens a new window)

Agenda AGM 2023

26/3/2024

ICSA 2023 AGM

Date/Venue: 4th April 2024, 11am Athlone Springs Hotel

1. Minutes of 2022 AGM
2. Chairpersons Report
3. Election of Officers
4. Feed Back on ICSA / IFI meetings,
5. ICSA position on pollack / voluntary code
6. ICSA position on possible new passenger licence code
7. ICSA position on MPO’s and ORE
8. A.O.B

AGM 2023

21/3/2024

Our next AGM will be held on

Thursday 4th April 2024, 11am

at the Athlone Springs Hotel, R362, Monksland, Athlone, Co. Roscommon, N37 F9T3

Agenda will follow shortly.

New members are welcome on the day.

Please remember your 2024 membership. It is 20 Euro and can be paid on
https://www.irishcharterskippersassociation.ie/membership.html
or paid on the day before the AGM.

ICSA/IFI Joint Workshop Meetings 2024

27/2/2024

Please can we encourage as many as possible of you to get to a meeting. Spread the word, it is important to ALL charter skippers.

Dates:

4th March: Arklow Bay Hotel, Arklow 11am – East Coast Skippers
5th March: Dromhall Hotel, Killarney 11am – SW skippers
6th March: Maldron Hotel, Oranmore 11am – Western Area Skippers
7th March: Abbey Hotel, Donegal town, 11am – NW Skippers

Aims:
To discuss current developments/monitoring activity in marine waters
Format: Short presentations on each topic below with discussion after each

AGENDA
Introduction – ICSA/IFI

11:10 – 12:30 Activity under EU Directives/Programmes – IFI

Common Fisheries Policy & Recreational Catch Data (new)
EU Data Collection Framework (IMREC)
Offshore Renewable Energy 2
Marine Protected Areas
Marine Strategy Framework Directive
IFI marine programmes
Skipper Angling Diary Programme
Elasmobranch Tagging Programme

12:30 – 13:30 Current activity in the charter angling sector – ICSA/IFI

Confirm names and contact details for all skippers involved in taking out sports anglers around the coast
Collect information to create an overview 'heat map' of charter skipper angling areas to help inform government planning policy by demonstrating the scope and extent of charter angling activity in Irish waters

Membership 2024

29/1/2024

Dear Skippers, Please remember to renew your membership for 2024
To renew your membership visit the membership page
Membership

NMCI Seafarers' Conference 2024

14/1/2024

Dear Members and Delegates,

The NMCI Seafarers' Conference 2024 is held on the 22nd February 2024 between 9am and 5pm in the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick.

You can attend online (tickets to attend in-person are sold out)
To reserve a spot to attend online visit the page eventbrite page
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/nmci-seafarers-conference-2024-virtualremote-attendance-tickets-757833148347

Link to download the programme: nmci_seafarers_conference_2024_-_programme.

IFI / ICSA joint meeting 18th December 2023

8/1/2024

Inland fisheries Ireland and the Irish Charter skippers Association had a meeting arranged to discuss current developments / monitoring activity in marine waters.
The ICSA was represented by Donal Kennedy (Chair) Luke Aston (Sec) Eamon Hayes and Adrian Molloy
This was considered very topical due to all developments around ORE and MPA’s and the recent directive from the EU requiring reporting on all “leisure fishing”.
Leisure fishing is a term used in fisheries management that is broader than just sports angling but in the context of a new requirement that all commercial fishing boats under 10mtrs will also have to report all catches, it is a directive that we will have to take seriously as a body representing sports fisherman. Especially in the context of the recent slashing of the TAC for Pollack to commercial boats.
It was pointed out that a recent study found that Sea Angling was worth €229 million a year to the Irish economy, so while that figure was vital in defending the fish taken it was felt that there was a big information deficit in the detail of catch rates and areas of activity. It was pointed out that on government websites like marineplan. ie sailing had a big footprint but angling was not even listed.
The IFI have been running the IMREC fish catch survey over the last 2 years but like all these things,unless there is enough information gathered, then the results can vary massively depending on the multiplier that is used.
There was also a presentation on the Marine sports tagging program and the very useful information that was gathered. But the number of charter skipper involved has fallen from 39 in 2007 to 9 in 2022. It would be a big support if skippers would commit to tagging just 20 fish per year.
There was a review of the BFT Chart fisheries and Adrian made some very valid points around the need for this to progress and to offer serious sports fisherman the chance to fish under more normal international practices. It was felt that a latter from the ICSA to the

Season Greetings

21/12/2023