Recalling the past and looking forward to the IX. Before Pinka-Völgyi Halas Day

Before the Pinka-Völgyi Fish Day, which will now be held for the ninth time, we spoke with Norbert Puskás, the executive president of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations

1. You have been working for the Association for nearly twenty years, and for 12 of those years in the post of executive president, so you have a clear view of the biggest changes that have taken place at the Association, which is 30 years old this year, since its inception. Which of these would you highlight?

This is an exciting question, a lot has happened, it might not be possible to summarize it briefly. The 30th anniversary is an excellent opportunity to recall together the organizational moments of the fishing community in Vasi. In reality, the history of the creation of the organized fishing community can be traced back more than 30 years. In the beginning, the fishing associations belonged to the Hungarian National Fishing Association, founded in 1946. However, by the end of the 1950s, the number of fishing associations and the number of members increased several times, which the Budapest-based association could no longer handle. Territorial associations were formed one after the other, including MOHOSZ. Rába's Rural Administrative Committee, which, in addition to our county, also included associations from Győr, Veszprém and Zala. In 1979, due to the continued increase in the number of fishermen, Administrative Committees were established in all counties, modeled after the county system, which are the MOHOSZ. They functioned as the County Administrative Committee. This is how MOHOSZ was founded. The Administrative Committee of Vas county, which included only the fishing associations within the county. After the change of regime, the general assembly of the national association did not consider it good that management from above determines the fishing movement, therefore they thought that bottom-up construction would be more appropriate. In connection with this, the entire fishing association was fundamentally reorganized, and on May 13, 1993, the county fishing associations were established, thus the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, which has been operating as a member of MOHOSZ for 30 years. After its foundation, the first president of Szövetég was József Horváth, who unfortunately is no longer with us. Ottó Fürstinger, the secretary general of the former territorial fishing association, who became the first executive president of the newly established fishing association at the beginning of József Horváth's presidency, took an active part in the organizational transformation regardless of working hours. In 1998, the general assembly of the fishermen of Vasi elected István Csiszár as the president of the organization, who led the organization for 15 years for three terms, unfortunately he is no longer with us. His work was assisted by Ottó Fürstinger until 2003, and from 2004 by executive president Sándor Csécs. It is important to point out that during the period of Otto Fürstinger, the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations won the fishing rights of 99% of the Vas County fishing waters in an almost unique way in the country, so our fishermen could fish in almost all the waters of the Vas with a fishing license from 2000-2015. between. The period of executive president Sándor Csécs also meant busy and productive years in the life of the Association. At that time, our Alpesi Fogadó and Fishing Tourist Center, which is the venue for the current event, was built with the help of a grant, as well as the development of habitats on several streams and rivers in Vas County using cross-border grant grants, and the fishing opportunities increased with new fishing waters. Let's not forget that good leaders had good colleagues and member association leaders, just as it is today. In the past period, since 2013, President Miklós Seregi and myself have been leading the association as executive president with the help of our colleagues. As a result of the joint work carried out over the past ten years, I would like to point out that we managed to launch a development program, thanks to which our most popular fishing lakes were renovated and waterfront infrastructure that meets the requirements of today was built. Our federal center has also been expanded with an event space, a terrace, solar panels, and our office and reception rooms have recently been renovated, and we have implemented numerous tourism developments with rural and area development support. Thanks to the developments we have implemented in the last 10 years and the results of the tender we won, approx. Our non-profit association was enriched with assets exceeding HUF 500 million. What is even more important is that we managed to increase the number of anglers within the framework of our Association - in our 28 member associations - to 12,000 people - i.e. almost threefold - in ten years, which is the highest number since the existence of the Association. Like its predecessors, this development would not have been possible without excellent and helpful colleagues, as well as volunteers, partner organizations, and supporters who want to work for the development of fishing.

2. For the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, the development of lakes and coastlines and constant renewal are important. Which development are you most proud of, which do you think made the biggest difference?

For me, the development of all fishing waters is equally important, and we are still working to be able to change the fishing conditions and fish stock in a positive direction on all our fishing waters, but we also have limitations, so this will not happen in a year or two. Regarding the development of the fishing ponds, I would perhaps emphasize that it is a good feeling to see that, thanks to the built-in benches, tables, rest areas, and waterside playgrounds, more and more fishermen visit the iron waters with their families, and the young people quickly become familiar with the recreational opportunities offered by fishing. It clearly shows that in today's world of technical gadgets, nearly 1,900 children get a license to go to the shores of iron waters every year, which is also three times the number of children ten years ago. We believe and believe that "Fishing brings generations together" - in today's fast-paced world, there is less and less time for each other, and fishing is a hobby that is often practiced by several generations within a family, and nowadays it is a very popular leisure activity even among ladies .

I can tell you a secret that the Sárvíz Lake in Gerskarát is closest to my heart, because I met my wife Ancsa there during a fishing camp, and this year it will be exactly ten years since the civil part of our wedding took place there, on the shores of Lake Gerskarát.

3. The Association considers the promotion of fishing among children to be a priority task. What programs have been organized for this purpose?

One of the priority tasks of the Association is the education of the youth. This is the eighteenth time we have organized our Vasi Vizek Primary School competition, in which 2,200 children have participated over the course of nearly 20 years. In the county, we operate five or six fishing courses in elementary schools with the help of volunteers, which resulted in the fishing education of more than 100 children throughout the county. At the beginning of the summer, we held the Vasi Vizeken Youth Fishing Competition for young anglers, the winners of which could take part in the finals held at the MOHOSZ National Fishing Camp. In the summer, 30 children from all parts of the county participate in our fishing camp in Vaskeresztes - at a discounted price - in the boarding and day care system. We try to support all association youth initiatives that we are aware of or that ask for our help.

4. 30 years have passed in the life of the Association, and you already know where you came from. If we could paint an ideal picture now, what would the life of the Association be like in 30 years?

This is an equally interesting question as the history of the Alliance. We have a lot of development plans for the next 10 years, if we can implement them in 30 years, I won't be sad either. Together with MOHOSZ, we would like to completely renew the environment and tourist facilities of Lake Döröskei, we have already passed the first historical point: after several decades, the lake received its water rights operating permits, which was achieved with the renovations of the water facilities and area planning carried out in the past year, but there will still be a lot of work there. The development of the habitat of several backwaters of the Rába River is a similarly big challenge, but there are still quite a few fishing ponds in need of renovation.

Our strategic goal for the next 30 years is essentially unchanged: the Association strives to protect, develop and expand the natural values of the water areas under its management, and to continuously increase its awareness both in Hungary and abroad. We are working to make our iron fishing waters popular and accessible to a wide group of society, rich in fish, thus providing a pleasant, cultured recreation for all fellow anglers.

5. I'm sure that all lakes and coastlines are dear to your heart, but if you have more time, where do you go fishing?

With my daughters Bori and Anna, if we have a little time, we usually go fishing at Lake Abért, or the last time we were at Gersekarat for a children's competition where Bori also started.

Fortunately, the girls also like to fish more and more, so slowly, as time allows, we will explore the iron waters together. I haven't had the opportunity to go fishing on my own recently, but I used to really like fishing on the Rába, and as a child the Szombathely Boating Lake was basically my second home, because I spent all my free time fishing there.

Thank you for the conversation and my colleagues and I cordially invite everyone to the IX. Pinka Valley Fish Day on Saturday!
We welcome visitors with nearly 2,000 servings of fish dishes and excellent programs.