Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The draft nets are different because there is no issue with by-catch and they are river-specific. They are used within the estuarine and river system, so there is not the same risk as I mentioned regarding drift netting at sea, which is indiscriminate.

I will certainly seek to get that memorandum of understanding, even if it is only an example of what can be done on the River Bandon, because that would be good. I have not seen it myself yet, so I look forward to seeing how it works.

I assure the Senator that commercial licences are only issued where the scientific assessment of a river is that it is above its conservation level to ensure that any activity is not worsening a conservation problem. Within that context, the ability to do other works on the river is governed by sensitive rules regarding what can and cannot be done. Works on bridges or other roadways would have to be done outside particular times to ensure that migratory fish stocks are not disturbed. Therefore, the type of licence and the sort of other activities that might impinge on fish stocks is heavily regulated under statute regarding when that takes place.