Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Fishing Industry: Discussion

5:00 pm

Photo of Michelle MulherinMichelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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Mr. Keatinge referred to a particular stretch of the river as probably being the most prolific for salmon fishing in Europe. It is definitely the case in Ireland. In terms of tourism promotion, Ballina, because it is located on the estuary, is cited as being the salmon capital of Ireland. However, it is not possible to get a salmon from that river in a local restaurant. My understanding is that it is possible to fish 15,000 salmon from the river and the estuary without interfering with the sustainability of wild salmon stocks. BIM deals with this issue from a commercial point of view. In terms of tourism angling, there are fishermen catching salmon from the river and the estuary but, as I said, these salmon are not available in local restaurants. In the case of a surplus and where it is sustainable to do so, it should be possible for an area to capitalise on a product for which it is well known.