The European Federation of Sea Anglers was formed in 1961 by a group of International anglers who were taking part in a fishing festival being held out of Looe in England. Many of these anglers had fished together for a number of years and seven nations were represented in this formative group:
Within six months of it’s formation no less than 16 countries were represented in the Federation, either by formation of member sections or affiliation of existing clubs. The objects of the Federation, as laid down at the time of it’s formation and still in force today, are to promote the sport of sea angling and maintain the list of European Sea Fish Records, and to keep a watching brief on all commercial fishing activities in European waters. One of our rules, which we are proud of because it was ahead of its time when promulgated in 1961, and which we still enforce, is that the Federation shall have no restrictions or limitations based on race, colour or creed. One of the functions of the Federation is to stage the European Sea Angling Championships. These championships have been held annually since 1962 and are held in a different country each year.
Host countries have included Gibraltar, Scotland, Iceland, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, Holland and Wales. In addition to the European Championships, European Line Class, Tope, and Cod events are held each year, with the more recent addition of Game and Shore Championships. The Federation is governed by a Standing Committee which consists of the office bearers of the main body together with two delegates from each of the member countries. Meetings of the Committee are held three times a year in various centres in Europe. There are at present twenty countries in membership of the Federation and the membership, both affiliated club members now total many thousands. The Federation has grown steadily since its formation and is still expanding.
EESA Belgium is co-founder of EFSA in 1961, as several fishermen from various countries always attended a competition in Looe in England? Fishermen from England, Belgium, France, Holland, Denmark, and Norway,
The Belgian fisherman included someone of royal blood, Prince de Linge. Who later founded EFSA Belgium in Belgium with some colleagues from the bank of Brussels, whose departure port was Ostend, and made their fishing trips with small boats from the royal Royal Yacht club.
President Prince de Linge was the first president to organize an EFSA boat Championship competition abroad in 1963 in South England in Littlehampton, for example a trophy was named after the Prince de Linge. The EFSA (Golden medal) to be won during the boat championships for the highest number of fish caught by a participant.
Later in 1971, he transferred the task as chairman to Mr. Hostens Oscar supervisor at the Fina Refinery Antwerp and who ensured that the membership expanded significantly with members of the Bank of Brussels and the refinery in Antwerp in the years which succeeded EFSA Belgium, the first Cod festival organized in 2003 and later in 2008 the species champion chip, in Ostend.
EFSA Belgium section currently has 24 members, almost all of whom are seniors, and some still try to participate in the annual EFSA boat championships, or other EFSA events. The younger members are more interested in annual competitions in Weymouth UK, as well as species hunting in foreign waters and record catches.
EFSA Belgium is currently unable to set up an EFSA championship, due to a lack of boats and not enough fish to hold a decent competition, as well as no alternative port in bad weather. The catches for Belgian fishing waters have not improved, cod is caught sporadically, in the month of April dab and whitefish and sea bass, in the summer months it is sole and small dogfish and occasionally thornback ray and smoothound.
Commercial fishing is the culprit here regarding fishing. The current board in EFSA Belgium consists of chairman Van Renterghem, Willy and secretary/treasurer Kanora, Robert.
The European Federation of Sea Anglers was formed in 1961 by a group of international anglers who were taking part in a fishing festival being held out of Looe in England. Initially there were 7 nations represented, England, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Scotland. The principals of the organisation were laid down in the early years and have changed little since.
England has a good membership number and a strong committee. Each year we host a 2day boat Championship, a 2-day species Championship (fished from boats), and a 2-day shore Championship. All these are pin events and are hotly contested. Also, in the latter years a Fun fish day after our AGM, primarily just to have a day’s fishing with good humoured chat.
Besides our own events the English section has hosted its share of European events including the Boat and Line Championships principally out of Weymouth. Also, many European Species events, fishing for species such as Bream, Conger Eel, Flat fish.
After 7 years of being a subdivision of EFSA England it was decided to form an own section in June 1969. The number of Dutch competitors fishing the Festivals in Looe grew considerably making this a wise choice. Peter Lobs is one of the founders and still a member. Over the years EFSA The Netherlands has grown into a section that has not only produced Pin winners but also proven to be a great organiser of The Scheveningen Festival, fished by many. Not to mention Shore championships. In 1996 the first Shore Championship was fished on Texel. Our section has done 4 others since. 2022 a Game Championship was organized for the first time. Who knows what the future will bring. Our objectives are all the same: Promote Sea Angling on Shore or Boat regardless of race , religion or skin colour.
When the European Federation of Sea Anglers was born away back in 1961, Scotland was one of the seven nations proud to be a founder member. Within six months sixteen countries had joined. It is a credit to our Federation that some 63 years later it still exists and continues to uphold the principal of equality – no restrictions or limitations based on race, colour or creed.
As a section, we have, over the years been an active member of the Federation and have hosted the European Boat Championships on ten occasions. Sadly, gradually declining membership numbers have seen the size of these events reduce from the heady days when in excess of 150 entrants took part to the present day when an entry of 100 is good. Now, due to reducing numbers of charter boats holding the European Boat Championships might not be feasible for our section at this time.
Our Section continues to run its own championship throughout the year where our members amass points towards winning our Order of Merit. Various clubs around our coasts organise open competitions where our members can take part and can score points counting towards the Order of Merit. This league, taken over a three year period, is used to facilitate National Team selection.
I see looking at past records that our section has supplied several Executive Committee members and, in the late Hamish Holmes, who having served for 16 years, the longest serving secretary in the federation’s history (to date). EFSA Scotland wishes the Federation a long and successful future.
EFSA Ireland was first formed in 1961 and hosted the EFSA Boat Championship in Cobh, County Cork in 1967. Affiliation lapsed a number of years afterwards.
The Section reformed in 1997 and ran the EFSA Shore Championship in the same year in Wicklow. Since then, EFSA Ireland have run many Championships.
Boat Championships 2001, 2004 in Cahersiveen, County Kerry and 2008, 2016 and 2023 in Cobh, County Cork. Shore Championships in 1997, 2002, in County Wicklow. 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 in County Wexford. EFSA Species Championship, 2002 in East Ferry, County Cork, 2006 in Kilmore Quay, County Wexford, 2012 in Dunmore East, County Waterford. Several British and Irish Shore Championships were also hosted in Bray, County Wicklow. Courtown, County Wexford. Ballyvaughan, County Clare and Valentia, County Kerry.
Membership numbers rose steadily in the early years however in more recent post Covid years numbers have stabilised.
Boat and Shore leagues are run each year. Teams for EFSA Championships are qualified through the leagues, over 2 years for boat and in current year for shore. Eight events are scheduled in both disciplines with best six to count. EFSA Ireland wish all sections a successful 2024.
Established in April 2006 with its very 1st official appearance during the EFSA Line & Boat Championships held in Harstad, NORWAY 2006 followed by EFSA Species Boat Championships in the Westman Islands, ICELAND 2007. The Icelandic waters were very favorite to the team bringing individual silver and bronze medals to our Victor Alikin and Oleg Bartenev respectfully.
The main achievements since the successful debut have also included: the international teams silver medals during the EFSA Species Championships (conger) in Plymouth, ENGLAND 2009 with the individual silver medal won by Takhir Allautdinov; winning the overall ladies’ championship by Julia Goncharova secured during the EFSA Line Class & Boat Championship in Dalvik, ICELAND 2010. The highest 5th rank among the international teams was secured during the EFSA Line & Boat Championships in Olafsvik, ICELAND 2018.
More than 20 European line class records (and 6 world records) were approved for different species including cod, Atlantic halibut and red fish with the most impressive cods weighing 26 kg and 35,15 kg caught by Oleg Bartenev and Dmitry Baturin using 4 kg and 8 kg lines respectfully. Dmitry Baturin has also successfully served a number of years for the EFSA Office as PRO Officer.
EFSA French Section was founded in 1971. At the beginning, more than 80 anglers were members. Today there are 7 to 8 of us to maintain the history of the French Section. We are happy whenever we can to be back with the European family of sea fishing.
Deeply impressed by taking part in an EFSA event in Ullapool, Scotland, German EFSA members decided to set up a German section. This took place in March 1965 in the city of Kiel by 6 members, namely Werner Makowski, Inge and Karl Droste, Leo Caunter, Lotti Makowski, Günter Schlue.
By 1978, EFSA Germany fully was established, events were set-up, and its own festivals and championships were then organised according to EFSA rules
February 22, 1979, marked the official registry in the HH association register as a section in the Federal Republic of Germany in the European Federation of Sea Anglers e.g.
Overseeing this were: Kurt Füssel, Lotti Makowski, Johannes Alesius, Hans-Werner Scheeper, Reinhard Nuhn, Fide Martens, Kurt Röhrs, Ekhard Sendker, Harald Wunsch and CWSL.
In the coming years things progressed rapidly, building up big game championships and taking part in further competitions abroad. Development of public relations work and presentation of our section via so-called information days. Further development of our rules for sport fishing, first created by Kurt Muskat, and our rules for festival organisers.
We have been keeping record lists of large fish caught for years. Our fishing divisions at the moment are surf fishing and boat fishing. Unfortunately, Big Game is no longer occupied at the moment. Increased participation of our members at international EFSA events in these two categories: surf and boat.
Our section is doing well financially, balanced membership structure, many life members who remain loyal to us. Conscious of tradition: We want to stay as we are, small but nice with around 100 members. There are many German fishing associations (with sea fish), but only we are the specialists for sea fishing and are active on an international basis.
Our principles are to foster friendship across borders with fellow anglers sporting the same hobby. We want to catch fish and have fun competing against each other on an international basis.
The beginning of sea angling in Iceland as a sport can be traced to the late fifties when American soldiers stationed at the Keflavik airbase in South-Iceland invited some of their Icelandic co-workers to go sea angling on local fishing boats out from Keflavik fishing harbour. This led to the establishment of the first local sea angling club in Iceland, The Sea Angling Club of Reykjavik in May 1961. On that same meeting EFSA Iceland was established.
Some of Reykjavik´s Sea Angling Club members worked in management for the airline Flugfelag Islands that later became Icelandair. They organized international angling tournaments by invitation of Flugfelag Islands where foreign anglers took part in, and the first Sea Angling Tournament was held in the Westman Islands in May 1962. After that, five other international angling tournaments from Keflavik, Akureyri and the Westman Islands were held until 1968.
In 1966 four anglers from EFSA Iceland competed for the first time in an EFSA European Championships or in Gibraltar. In that championship EFSA Iceland got its first Champion in the Ladies class, V. Bara Gudmundsdottir
In 1968 EFSA Iceland held its first European Boat Championships from Reykjavik, but the boats sailed out from Keflavik. An Icelander, Matthias Einarsson won the Individual class, Erla Eiríksdóttir won the Ladies class og Einar Kr. Einarsson won the Junior class, all members of EFSA Iceland.
The next European Boat Championships organized by EFSA Iceland was in 1974 from Akureyri. We got three Champions or Matthias Einarsson in the Individual class, Margret Helgadottir in the Ladies class and Stefan Einar Matthiasson (son of Matthias Einarsson) in the Junior class.
After the Championships in 1974 EFSA Iceland lay dormant for almost 24 years. In 1998 EFSA Iceland was re-established by the initiative of SJOL, The Federation of Iceland´s Sea Angling Clubs. The Federation pointed out the 10 founding members of the re-established EFSA Iceland and in the same year (1998) EFSA Iceland sent its first anglers for more than 20 years to compete in Elsinore, Denmark.
In 2001 almost half of EFSA Iceland´s members (14) competed in the European Boat & Line Championships in Cahersiveen, Ireland. From that time EFSA Iceland´s anglers have competed in most of the Boat & Line Championships and Species Championships. And from 2010, in many Shore Championships and at least in one Big Game Championship, the Azores. Since 2007 EFSA Iceland have had four European Champion or two for ladies (2008 Species Ostende and 2011 Species Weymouth) and two for juniors (2007 Species Westman Island and 2008 Species Ostende).
EFSA Iceland have organized and been the host country for nine Championships from 1968 to 2022:
EFSA Iceland have had one member serving on EFSA Executive Committee or Skarphedinn Asbjörnsson as the Fisheries Officer from 2016 to 2022. One or two delegates from EFSA Iceland´s Board has attended the yearly EFSA HQ SC- and AG-meetings and we have been doing so for more than 20 years.
Each year EFSA Iceland organize a two day Boat fish festival and one day Species fish festival. Also Shore fishing venue (started 2008) for one to two days. The venues takes place all over Iceland but most often from Olafsvik and Dalvik (Boat and Species) but the Shore venue from fishing spots in the Snæfellsness peninsula or in North-Iceland.
We keep fish record list for fish caught from boats by our members in Icelandic sea water. Now we have 27 species on record, the oldest one from 1998 (Dogfish) and the newest one from 2022 (Grey Gurnard).
In 2021 we started a new on-going competition the whole year, The Ulli´s Cup for most species fished in Icelandic waters and claimed within the fishing year (January-Desember) and The Sigga´s Cup for the longest fish caught in the same period. The claims and a picture of the fish and some text must be published on EFSA Iceland´s Facebook side so all our members can see the fish and read about it.
EFSA Iceland has now 32 member, 28 men og 4 ladies. Life members are 7, Seniors 9, Junior 1, ladies and not life members 2, and ordinary 13.
In 1957, an organization named the South African Game Fish Association (SAGFA) was formed and catered mainly for anglers fishing from larger game fishing boats in South African waters. At that stage SAGFA had six Provincial bodies and two clubs, the S.A. Marlin and Tuna Club – Simonstown and the Natal Rod & Reel Club – Durban who, as founder members, enjoyed full Provincial status.
In October 1958, the South African Ski Boat Angling Association (SASBAA) was formed in the Turfontein Hotel, Johannesburg in the presence of Dave Brunt, Basil Ashington, Leo Rossetenstein and Alf Jones. Alf is still living today. This name was subsequently changed to the S.A. Ski-Boat Light Tackle Game Fishing Association (SASBLTGFA). The name change was the result of the very futuristic vision that (a) Light Tackle was identified as a conservation method and (b) game fish, in being pelagic, was less threatened than bottom fish. This was during the time when South Africa’s 200 mile Economic Zone came into being and it was considered merely a matter of time before a ripple effect would also affect the near- shore areas as we are now experiencing.
After a period of extended negotiations between SAGFA and SASBLTGFA the two organizations amalgamated in 1988 when and the name was once again changed to the present South African Deep Sea Angling Association (SADSAA).
SADSAA is internationally affiliated to the European Federation of Sea Anglers (EFSA) and to the Federation Internationalle de Peche Sportive en Mer (FIPS-M) through its membership to the S.A. Federation of Sport & Sea Angling.