Dr. Peter Heffernan:

I accept the fact that the IFI would have a view on it. There are many potential threats to wild fisheries. The IFI has a role in the protection of wild fisheries and will voice an opinion on any potential risk area. There are many causes of mortality in salmon and fin fish. In the Senator's county, we run the largest monitoring station for salmon, eel and sea trout movement in Ireland for over 50 years. The facility was originally established by Guinness and it is one of three indicator sites in the world for the state of stocks. We have a very good picture and provide a very good scientific overview of the state of salmon stocks. However, the best science brains in the world have been investigating what is causing the mortality and continuing decline of salmon at sea progressively over a number of years, and it is still an elusive quest.