Trevor Champ, ISFC Chairman
Trevor Champ passed way in January following a short illness. He became Chairman of the Irish Specimen Fish Committee (ISFC) in 2002 and served with great enthusiasm until his untimely death. He was proud of the contribution of the ISFC’s annual report to the promotion of quality Irish angling and the collection of data about angler-caught specimen fish. Under his stewardship the ISFC advanced and improved its operations by developing its website, introducing genetic identification for several species, guiding the introduction of additional species to the Specimen Species List and reviewing all species and their specimen weights. The review entailed collating details for over 20,000 individual specimen fish and determining species’ angling status. As Chair, Trevor’s fair-mindedness came to the fore and everybody got a hearing. His immense integrity underpinned his decision making and lengthy meetings were likely to ensure that all angles were investigated. His role as Chair did not prevent him from contributing in other ways – he would always help to set up and dismantle displays for the annual ISFC Awards Day. He was generous and good humoured about giving his time.
Monitoring and managing water quality in Ireland’s freshwater fisheries formed the core of Trevor Champ’s long career in the inland fisheries sector. He was passionate about his work and contributed very significantly to increasing understanding of the nature and extent of water quality and fisheries habitat issues in many parts of the country. Over a 40 year career he became the key strategic environmental player in the Central and Regional Fisheries Boards service, flying the flag for water quality, for habitat and for fish.