Presentation of the Hungarian National Fishing Association
The first known forms of organizations involving fishing already existed in Hungary in the second half of the 19th century, because the fishing societies that were formed also represented the economic and interest representation of fishing and fishing-fishing utilization, which were not yet separate at that time. The first fishing association itself - with a clear core activity even in its name - was founded in 1908, this was the Budapest Sport Fishing Association, which is still in operation today. Due to the war periods and other economic and interest-assertion reasons, a national-level organization could only take place later, in 1946, when the Hungarian National Fishing Association (MOHOSZ) was founded, which has been operating continuously ever since, and which brought together 17,000 angler members by the end of its first year of operation.
After an initial rapid upswing fueled by social and socio-political demand, after about four decades of stability, from the end of the 1980s onwards, as a combined effect of the spread of computers, the expansion of other entertainment options, and the emergence of private forms of exploitation, thus the "outsourcing" of anglers, a continuous decrease was detectable in the number of organized (also federal) anglers, but this did not mean a real decrease in the number of anglers. Proof of this is that, thanks to the outstanding legislative and then organizational changes of the past three years, the number of members and the number of organized anglers increased significantly again from 2015, and last year it may have exceeded 600,000 people and 1 million registered anglers. The fishing organization system of MOHOSZ is a three-level network civil organization, where the regional member associations and members with special legal status are located below the central level, and the fishing associations are located below the regional member associations. At the end of 2023, the organizational system of MOHOSZ included 25 independent legal entity regional member associations, through which 1,186 fishing associations (2022: 1,217, 2021: 1,205, 2020: 1,196, 2019: 1,192), as well as 17 members with special legal status (2022–2020: 17, 2019: 16).
Starting from 2019, the public task performance activity of MOHOSZ has been performed by OHSZK, which was established in February 2019 and has undergone significant and continuous organizational development since its establishment, and has now stabilized its operation. In terms of the performance of the task, it is essential to mention the collaborative activities of Horgászjegy Kft., which is exclusively owned by MOHOSZ, as well as the fishing organizations and sales points139.
MOHOSZ PRESIDENCY 2024-2029
MOHOSZ's results in the years 2016-2023
1. Ensuring revenues for the performance of public tasks:
As one of the most significant steps in the multi-year legislative and organizational development activity aimed at creating and positioning a new framework for domestic recreational and sport fishing, the OHHP resolution determined that from 1 January 2019, the fee to be paid for the issuance of the state fishing license and catch logbook would be entirely the income of MOHOSZ, as a court-registered organization responsible for the national interest representation and coordination of anglers and fishing associations. At the same time, it was stipulated that MOHOSZ may use its material income specified in the law exclusively for the performance of its tasks specified in the law and in the public service contract. Subsequently, with the amendment to the Hhvtv. that came into force on 1 January 2019, the expectations of the OHHP were also implemented in practice, i.e. MOHOSZ was designated at the statutory level to perform certain state tasks as public tasks. With the amendment by Act CLXXIV of 2020, the real public tasks that MOHOSZ performs and may perform in the areas of registered fish management water areas leased by it or by fishing organizations that are members of its members or member organizations, or utilized for fishing fish management or fishing fish production for fishing purposes (predominantly) state or majority state ownership, have been supplemented and clarified in Section 62/C of the Hhvtv. (MOHOSZ, 2023). The public tasks to be implemented by MOHOSZ can be identified from the Hhvtv.
2. Public service activities affecting fishing tourism
The initially defined range of public tasks to be performed by MOHOSZ in the 2019 report: 23 public tasks) changed significantly with the amendment of the Hhvtv. by Act CLXXIV of 2020, as a result of which, from 1 January 2020, the range of public tasks that form the basis for the performance of tasks by MOHOSZ and OHSZK could be divided into 37 independently identifiable legal titles. Of the 37 public tasks, the tasks directly related to fishing tourism are:
- identifying fishing tourism development needs and opportunities, encouraging developments and coordinating them;
- developing and operating an evaluation and quality assurance system for fishing and fishing tourism services; supporting the creation, development and maintenance of buildings, facilities and infrastructure supporting fishing for fishing tourism purposes.
3. Fish farming
In Hungary, fishing organizations stocked 4,150 tons of fish in 2022 (2021: 4,749 tons, in 2020 – including intervention – 5,189 tons, 2019: 4,089 tons) in registered fish management water areas, and anglers caught and consumed 4,480 tons (2021: 4,607 tons, 2020: 5,666 tons, 2019: 4,997 tons, 2018: 4,736 tons) of fish as a healthy food source.
Interestingly, in the case of carp, the total catch was 3,895 tons with a share of 69% (2021: 3,152 tons / 68%, 2020: 3,895 tons / 68%, 2019: 3,203 tons / 64%), while the stocking rate was 94% with a share of 4,870 tons (2021: 4,328 tons / 91%, 2020: 4,870 tons / 94%, 2019: 3,702 tons / 91%), so the carp population in domestic waters continues to increase as a result of the unified, organized fish management activity. The significantly increased number of anglers still did not cause a proportional increase in fish removal, because the experience-based "catch and release" approach has also strengthened in recent years. In addition to supporting sport fishing as a leisure activity affecting a significant social group, MOHOSZ is committed to promoting domestic fish consumption, of which only one, but not the decisive source is the fish taken by anglers. Since a significant part of the stocks are juveniles, taking into account the natural weight gain, the overall ecological balance is positive, which is further improved from the side of natural waters by the annual 3,000-4,000 tons of fish left in the system by the cessation of commercial fishing. These fish remain in the water and continue to reproduce under favorable conditions. However, the picture is far from as good if we add the damage caused by cormorants in Hungary, also estimated at 4,000 tons/year, and in addition, typically consisting of valuable and protected fish.
4. MOHOSZ organizational system applications in the spirit of socialization and resource mobilization
- Fishing recruitment and education
Within the framework of the Angler Training and Education Program (hereinafter: HUNOP), MOHOSZ has launched several well-established programs since 2017. The main goal of HUNOP is to popularize fishing as a diverse leisure activity that can be practiced in nature among young people, and to provide them with fishing equipment, along with cost-sharing,
and support the children and youth programs of the fishing organizations with educational materials. The total cost of the program in 2019–2023 was approximately 563.3 million HUF, of which the central, application-based support of the programs by the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans and Fisheries is approximately 384.1 million HUF, and the direct contribution of the fishing organizations is 179.2 million HUF.
- Maintaining the natural environment of the waterfront:
By the end of 2023, the equipment park supported by the Waterfront Environment Conservation Association (MOHOSZ) for improving the opportunities and comfort of anglers will total 719 pieces at 219 member organizations (20 member associations, 199 fishing associations), with a purchase value of HUF 35.8 million. This quantity has already resulted in a clearly visible qualitative change on the watersides.
Preserving and improving water quality:
By the end of 2023, the equipment park supported by MOHOSZ, which supports water quality conservation, will total 540 pieces at 187 member organizations (19 member associations, 168 fishing associations), with a procurement value of HUF 229.0 million. This quantity could have been the key to saving fish stocks in many water areas during the “drought of the century” in 2022, but this is its role in the present and in the future as well.
•Habitat development and rehabilitation
In connection with the lessons learned from the development of more than 700 million HUF in general and in connection with this NHTS, it should be noted that MOHOSZ is the only organization in Hungary that has implemented non-profit development tasks of this magnitude, with a self-funding of approximately 60%, in the interest of state-owned fish stocks in state-owned water areas. From a future perspective, it is particularly important
It is a positive, forward-looking development that, based on the EU's official position, with the recognition of the public law status of MOHOSZ performing public tasks, it will be possible in the future to provide 100% support intensity in EU applications and to provide MOHOSZ with asset management rights for the purposes of priority fish management or fishing tourism.
- Other activities supported by MOHOSZ
The goal of MOHOSZ is to ensure that sport fishing, fishing sports, fish gastronomy, the preservation of fishing traditions, and the dissemination of "fish" knowledge receive the recognition they deserve due to their importance and social significance, and thus supports the holding of national and local events on this topic.
Fishing tourism developments, support for the purchase of fishing waters As we have already described, the development of fishing tourism is the area where the greatest backlog exists, since the fishing infrastructure that has deteriorated in previous decades is indispensable, and for its comprehensive and network-like renovation and development, no program-like central source has been secured so far - and this is the only one considering such a large social stratum. To finance this comprehensive, complex, national fishing tourism development and investment task affecting basic services, service quality, and domestic and international guest traffic, the following funds will be used from the public resources of MOHOSZ and its own revenues:
due to its workload and labeling – is not currently and will not be able to do so in the future. Over the past seven years, MOHOSZ has had as its main task the development of an atypical, but complex, organizational and organizational management system capable of performing public tasks based on transparency, efficiency, synergies and cooperation, and at the same time the significant transformation of the sector and
has carried out its staff development, with several clearly successful implementations including a national economic approach. This development and its further dynamization can be assisted by the current review and renewal of the National Fisheries Network Program linked to the National Fisheries Management and Fisheries Strategy, adopted by the Government with Government Resolution No. 526/2016. (IX.29.), and the scheduling of development resources until 2030 and their practical provision as a successful government measure. The main organizational strategic goal remains that the actual fishing business, fishing tourism turnover and related organizational performance should be the
a real benchmark, and the awarding of public resources that can be applied for should be performance-tracking and incentive-based, as well as dynamic and automated. We believe that fishing organizations, which have proven themselves even amidst the unprecedented challenges of the global pandemic, then the state of emergency of war and the economic crisis of the century, and the services they provide, are not "only" socially significant, but should be rightfully, unquestionably and thus courageously supported and developed in the future in the interests of personal recreation that also causes health benefits, healthy fish consumption, developing domestic and international fishing tourism, and quality fishing sport.
In addition to the core mission, it is worth mentioning two other significant organizational activities that make the organization unique.
One is the publication of magazines. MOHOSZ launched the magazine "Magyar Horgász" in January 1947, which aimed to spread the culture of fishing and to present news about fishing life. The "Magyar Horgász magazin", which was renewed in content and form in 2015 and then expanded in size, is today one of the largest monthly printed leisure press products in Hungary, of which the Association is also the responsible publisher. This magazine reaches more than 50,000 anglers directly on a monthly basis.
The other is sports organization. As a background, it is important to mention that MOHOSZ introduced the definition of “sport fishing” for the recreational, mass-sport branch of fishing, and the definition of “fishing sport” for the officially recognized sporting activity. In this latter context, the Association is also the national sports association of the Hungarian Olympic Committee’s “Family of Non-Olympic Sports” (MOB NOS), bringing together nearly 3,000 athletes. In this capacity, it is a member of the European Angling Federation (EAF), the International Angling Federation (CIPS), and three of its branches: the International Freshwater Angling Federation (FIPSed), the International Marine Angling Federation (FIPSMer) and the International Fly Angling Federation (FIPSMouche). Another international element is the membership of the International Casting Sport Federation (ICSF) and the Alps-Adriatic Angling Federation.
Of course, the activities are diverse beyond what is described, so - without claiming to be complete - independent lake fish production, operation of fishing farms, rearing of new fish, or the nationwide sale of uniform state fishing documents, as well as the management of sublease contracts for utilized water areas are also part of the organizational portfolio.
The entire sector in Hungary already generates and realizes tens of billions of forints of revenue per year, including significant state budget and tax revenue. The legal environment has been renewed and now clearly serves the interests of anglers and fishing. In the new regulatory environment, the already significant market for fish placement for fishing purposes will expand and appreciate in the fish production sector, while the placed fish will increase state wealth, and it should be emphasized that the specific cost value of fish caught and taken for consumption during fishing activities will increase tenfold compared to the available purchase (market) price.
Responsible, fishing-oriented fish farming contributes to the preservation of good environmental conditions and the complex development of water areas. “Fish farmers” should be given a special opportunity to establish fishing waters, supporting the transformation of the structure according to species and age groups, as well as extensive, multi-year cycle fishing-oriented “fish production” in suitable water areas directly utilized for fishing purposes. The Association intends to ensure quality fish conservation and the long-term availability of ecological and selective fishing and the possibility of fish rescue by purchasing services aimed at this.
MOHOSZ is convinced that the non-profit, complex fish management utilization of Hungary's fishing waters, including fishing tourism services, must be organized and coordinated through efficient operation and transparent management, while simultaneously reducing bureaucracy and increasing the effectiveness of communication. Thus, thanks to state support, a new way of thinking, and the soon-to-be available domestic and EU tenders and grant support, serious developments are expected in the field of fishing and fishing tourism. The point is that the real winner will be the angler!
More information: www.mohosz.hu
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